Shadow of the Revolution
by Seeress
Summary: “So, everyone is here except for Mr. Maxwell, Miss Violet, and Mr. Yuy, is that correct?” the teacher read aloud, frowning as she marked the attendance for the day. I wonder where they could be... [DISCONTINUED]
1. A New Face

Shadow of the Revolution  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing. Gundam Wing is property of Sunrise and its creators. However, the plot and any new characters introduced are MY property, and I ask that you all be creative and come up with your own ideas.  
  
Author's Note(s): Ok, people. This is my first attempt at writing a GW fic. I really need feedback. Reviews and comments are greatly appreciated! I don't mind flames, as long as you have a reason for flaming me, but do keep in mind that this is my first GW fic, so please be gentle. This story takes place after the Endless Waltz, probably two years after, give or take a month. Duo is running his scrap yard (and going to school), Trowa is back with the circus, Quatre has taken over the Winner corporation, Wufei is a Preventer, and Heero… he's still keeping a close eye on Relena, but he doesn't really stay in one place for too long. For the time being, he's going to the same school as Duo (which is in space, BTW.)  
  
Sooo, I think that's it. Enjoy! Please R&R!  
  
  
  
Shadow of the Revolution  
  
Chapter One- A New Face  
  
Quatre waited nervously in the spacious waiting room, pacing as he mentally went over his speech for the manager/ director of Generation Enterprises. Taking over his father's job, Quatre had several business meetings a day, this one being the last of them. He'd gotten used to doing formal speeches and listening to old crones droning on about how good their companies were. He expected this meeting to be no different, but he was especially nervous this time. He had looked through his father's files and found that Generation Enterprises was the main business partner that his father had, funding for some of the researches going on in various Resource Satellites, and donating necessary equipment for the researchers. Apparently the owner of the company wanted a report on the researches, so they had set up a meeting for Quatre to give a progress report. The owner fell ill with a high fever that day, so Quatre was supposed to speak to the manager/director instead.  
  
How long is this going to take? Quatre thought almost angrily. He was usually very patient, but today was more tiring than usual, and Quatre wanted to get home so that he could get the stress and the uncomfortable suit off his mind. He had been waiting for almost an hour, even with an appointment!  
  
If I don't get to go in there soon, Quatre thought crossly, I'm just going to leave!  
  
Just then, the door opened and the secretary stepped in.  
  
"Thank you for waiting, Mr. Winner. Miss Dracy will see you now. Please, follow me."  
  
Quatre walked out after the blond secretary. Somehow, she reminded him of his sister Yuria.  
  
Down the long, dimly-lightly halls, they walked for almost five minutes, turning left, right, another right, left again, right… so many turns that he couldn't remember. Finally they arrived in front of two large, mahogany- framed glass doors, in front of another set of mahogany doors behind those, on which the secretary knocked, and a female voice replied. They entered into a large trapezoid room, in which a desk was situated on the far side of the room in front of a glass wall. Through the glass, Quatre could see the most beautiful scenery of shadowed office buildings standing erectly against the horizon. On the right side of the room sat a desk with a computer, printer, and fax machine. On the other wall was a photocopier and a door, which led to what Quatre guessed, was a storage or supply room. Beautiful paintings of sceneries covered the bare light-grey walls, accentuated with the soft lighting of many small ceiling lights. Houseplants were placed in each corner of the room, giving it the perfect touch. Quatre was so intrigued by the décor of the room he almost didn't notice a silhouette sitting behind the grand oak desk until the secretary addressed the person.  
  
"I've brought Mr. Winner to see you, Miss Dracy."  
  
"Thank you," came the reply. "I won't be needing your assistance for a while. You may leave."  
  
"Yes, ma'am."  
  
After the door had clicked shut, the figure came from behind the desk to greet Quatre.  
  
"I'm terribly sorry for the wait, Mr. Winner. I didn't expect my meeting to take that long." It seemed as though she was going to say more, but catching the rapt look on his face made her stop.  
  
She smiled gently before asking, "Is anything the matter, Mr. Winner?"  
  
Snapped out of his trance, Quatre could only imagine how stupid he must of looked, standing there gaping at the young woman before him. It was a mixture of her beauty and age that surprised him, for the woman before him was no older than himself, yet here she was, the manager and director of one of the largest companies in the world. As for her loveliness, he knew that her raven hair hanging to her mid-back framing her face, the stunningly hazel eyes, and that ideal figure would make even Heero, Trowa or Wufei to raise an eyebrow.  
  
"No, not at all," Quatre replied with a smile. "Except that I didn't expect the manager and director of Generation Enterprises to be so…. young."  
  
At that she laughed; a pleasant laugh that was like music to the ears.  
  
"A common reaction. Some people don't think I can handle my job. I would have been surprised of your age as well, had I not of been told that you had taken over you father's company, Mr. Winner," she finished.  
  
"Please, call me Quatre," the blond Arab said.  
  
"Only if you call me Sonya," she answered, smiling.  
  
"You've got a deal," Quatre grinned, taking the hand that Sonya offered.  
  
"You have a really nice office," Quatre told her, not to flatter her but because that was what he truly thought of it.  
  
"Thank you," was her response. "Would you like to have a seat?" she asked, indicating the chairs on the other side of her desk.  
  
"Oh, yes, thank you," Quatre blushed and sat down.  
  
"Well, shall we get on with business?" Sonya asked.  
  
"Right away, ma'am," Quatre playfully replied, pulling out papers and forgetting his entire speech; but somehow, he didn't think he'd need it.  
  
***************  
  
Sonya clicked the door shut behind Quatre, and turned back to the huge stack of paperwork that she still had to do before going home.  
  
That went well, almost too well. Still no word — she thought but her thoughts were cut off by a beep from her laptop. She went over to the desk, pressed a button, and an unclear and shadowed image of her superior appeared.  
  
"Dearest Sonya, how are you doing?" came his smooth, melodic voice.  
  
This was the absolute last thing she had expected him to say, because for one he had not used her "code" name or rather the nickname he called her by, and he didn't say anything that concerned their mission. In her shock she couldn't respond to his question. He chuckled slightly.  
  
"You mustn't be caught unaware again, Sonya. It could be fatal." Understanding what he just did, she nodded and replied.  
  
"I understand, sir. Any word from the others?" she asked hopefully.  
  
"Most have replied. They are doing well. And you, Lady, how are you doing?" he questioned her.  
  
He'd used her code name this time, and the code name felt much more familiar than the real one. He had picked out her code name, saying it was the same name of the woman who formerly held her position. She didn't really care what her code name was; all she cared about were completing her missions.  
  
"Quite smoothly, sir. I didn't understand why you assigned me instead of her. It's been very simple so far. I didn't need to use as much effort as I had first suspected to make him take the bait."  
  
"It may seem that way for now, but be cautious. He is very kind and gentle, but he's also very strong and unpredictable. Watch him closely, and don't let your guard down."  
  
"As you wish, sir." Then, before she was able to stop herself, she continued on. "But sire, he can't be stronger than Heero Yuy. And with my relationship with his mentor, it would be much easier for me to handle Heero Yuy."  
  
"Precisely," her superior replied calmly. "That is why I did not assign you to him. Heero Yuy is the Perfect Soldier; he is very strong and determined. But he has lost his humanity. He is only focused on missions, and therefore it makes him easy to manipulate and control. Your assigned mission is very kind, and always has been. Even in the heat of battle, he keeps his tenderness and mourns over all lost souls. He truly has a universal heart. His actions are from his heart, which makes it hard to anticipate what he will do next. As a soldier he is imperfect in many ways, but his humanity makes him unpredictable, and harder to prevent from ruining our plans. That is why I assigned you to him, because I can only trust you, Lady. Leave Heero Yuy to Dorothy. She'll handle him. Focus on your mission, and tomorrow night. That is your main priority. But if possible, I'd like you to meet the other pilots. Do not get too near Heero, but see what you think of the saviors of our time."  
  
"Of course, sir." And with that she ended transmission, leaving her alone in her silent office to complete the rest of her paperwork.  
  
  
  
***************  
  
Quatre plopped into bed without bothering to take off the suit that was being a nuisance to him during the day. His last meeting had been terrific, just thinking of it made him happy. He couldn't get his mind off the dark- haired girl he had talked to earlier, the image of her face, the sound of her voice, drifting clearly in his mind.  
  
Look at you, Quatre, he thought to himself. You're starting to act like Duo, lovesick over some pretty girl.  
  
Duo, Quatre thought. Haven't heard from him in a while. I wonder how he's doing. I wonder how everyone's doing.  
  
Quatre thought about seeing his comrades again, hoping that they'd show up for the celebration of the first year since the official prohibition of armaments the following night. All the former Gundam pilots, world leaders, and Preventers were invited to the party. It was a diplomatic event, and so only the highest ranked officials of the world could attend. Relena was to be the hostess of the party, giving a speech and basically making sure that things ran smoothly. The party started at 5:30pm, and the guests could mingle and talk among themselves until dinner was served at 6 o'clock. Dinner would take approximately an hour, and then Relena would give her speech. After that the ball would start. Quatre could bring someone along, sort of as a date, but he hadn't really had anyone in mind until now, and currently his problem switched to not having anyone to ask to getting the courage to ask someone: Sonya.  
  
Why didn't I ask her? Quatre mentally asked himself. I'll call her office tomorrow. I hope she'll say yes.  
  
And before he could stop himself, Quatre dozed off into a blissfully dream- filled sleep.  
  
***************  
  
Blade Violet walked boldly into Marge Charlotte Institute. She received many stares from her soon-to-be comrades, male and female alike. She was dressed in a simple black turtleneck and a pair of khaki pants. Her long ebony hair was tied back in a high ponytail, and her hazel eyes glinted mischievously. She headed to the front office of the school to say that she was present on her first day at her new school.  
  
Duo Maxwell and Heero Yuy both arrived at school a little later than they usually did, due to Duo having a bad hair day. They both walked to their usual spot under the big oak tree to wait for the bell to ring. Since the school was raised up a little higher than the rest of the buildings surrounding it, the students had a beautiful view of the entire colony. The spot from under the oak tree faced toward his house, or rather the house he shared with Hilde, and Duo could get a clear view of his junkyard from where he was standing.  
  
After the staring at the scenery for some time, Duo turned back around and faced the school. He was surprised the bell hadn't rung yet, and just as that thought struck him the familiar sound of a bell signaled that classes were about to begin. He and Heero headed toward the door, when Duo's eye was caught by a girl he had never seen before. She was wearing simple clothing, yet they seemed to suit her so perfectly. Her ebony hair reflected off the sun, and her figure was absolutely perfect.  
  
Whoa! She is just… HOT! Duo thought to himself. I wonder who she is. She's probably new. That caused him to smile. In that case, she'll need someone to show her around, and I'm the man for the job.  
  
"Duo, you're drooling," came a familiar monotone to his right.  
  
Duo blinked and snapped out of his trance at once.  
  
"Nice to see you've joined us again," Heero smirked.  
  
"Very funny, Heero. Did you see her?" Duo said excitedly. "Wonder who she is," he added thoughtfully.  
  
"She's probably new around here. You can go and flirt with her later, Duo," Heero said, reading Duo's thoughts.  
  
"How the heck do you do that, Yuy?" Duo asked astonished. "Or do you have special powers besides from being super-human?" Duo leered.  
  
"It's not hard to tell what you're thinking, Maxwell, you flirt with every girl in the school," came the ever-calm voice of Heero.  
  
"Good point." Duo smiled, the devilish smile he always had on before battle. I'll see you later, baby. You can count on that. Duo thought to himself, and ran to catch up to Heero to go to class. 


	2. Moving On

Shadow of the Revolution

_Disclaimer:_ I don't own Gundam Wing, whether it be characters, plot, mecha designs, etc. Gundam Wing belongs to Sunrise and its creators, and I don't make any claim to it. 

*******************

Shadow of the Revolution

Chapter Two

Mariemaia Khushrenada sat in her wheelchair, looking at the grave of her father, and his beloved Lady Une. She placed the flowers she held in her hand on their graves. She thought it was very fitting that her father and the one he loved most were buried together. Lady Une had died some months ago, and Mariemaia had felt great sorrow at the time of her death. She had been like a mother to her, more so of a mother than her real mother had been. Mariemaia had no place to go, but Relena had kindly offered to take her to live in the Sanc Kingdom. She didn't really care what happened to her anymore, she just felt emptiness, and pain. People told her the pain would be cured with time, but Mariemaia really didn't feel like living. Unshed tears formed in her eyes, as she thought back to all the happy times she had with Lady Une. It was so hard to let her go. The tears spilled over and rolled down her cheeks. Soft, whimpering sobs choked Mariemaia before she could stop herself. She had promised herself she wouldn't cry anymore, after spending the first month of Lady Une's death doing so. 

"It's so unfair," she whispered to the wind. "It's so unfair."

Dark storm clouds gathered above, and Mariemaia could tell by the rumbling that there would be a storm soon; but she didn't really care. She just sat and stared, as though her staring could bring her father and 'mother' back to life. Soon the rain poured down and beat upon her shoulders. The water soaked her, and the cold left her numb. It didn't bother her though, and she didn't care. Caring was a positive emotion, and she had been void of positive emotions for a long time. Sitting in the rain, it was as though the heavens cried for her, and mourned her loss. Her tears were mixed in the rain, and she didn't know how long she had been sitting there. The rain finally stopped, and Mariemaia noticed a rainbow.

"Do you know where rainbows come from, Mariemaia?" she remembered her real mother asking her once. Mariemaia had told her that she didn't know, but she would like to.

"They are formed when the sun reflects off water droplets in the sky. Usually rainbows form after it rains, when all the clouds have disappeared and the sun shines again. Something good always happens after something bad. Remember that Mariemaia; it's almost a fact of life."

_'That's not true,'_ Mariemaia thought bitterly. _'What's the 'good' thing that's supposed to happen? What good can come of Lady Une's death?'_

The wind whispered around her, as if showing her its sorrow. Leaves rustled, and in the distance, Mariemaia heard the sound of birds cawing, returning home to their nests to rest for the night. She sighed heavily, not knowing what she was supposed to do. For the flicker of a moment, she thought she heard the sound of a flute playing in the distance. She strained her ears to hear it properly, but heard nothing and thought that it was just something she had heard in her mind. It was a familiar melody; one she might of heard when she was very young and couldn't quite remember. It was a soft and beautiful piece of music, soothing to hear. It was almost like a half remembered dream; she knew she'd heard the song somewhere before. She sighed again, unaware of footsteps approaching her from behind. 

"Here you are, Miss Mariemaia," a recognizable voice called to her. "Please come back with me. Miss Relena has been worried sick about you." 

Mariemaia turned to face the concerned face of Lucrezia Noin, her good friend and older sister. Noin had been taking care of her, and Mariemaia was grateful that there were people that stilled cared for her, but she needed to be alone. She had to let the tears flow and set her emotions free, otherwise she knew she'd explode; but she couldn't do that in front of others. Since she was supposed to be the leader of the world, she had been trained since she was young to hide her fears and confusion. Now those were two of the things she felt all the time, but her instincts still told her too hide how she felt. Noin came around her wheelchair to face her, and knelt so that their faces were at the same level. Mariemaia lowered her eyes to the ground; she expected Noin to be very angry with her. Relena must be really worried, but to Mariemaia's surprise, Noin's voice, as she spoke, was not at all filled with anger, but concern.

"I know how hard this must be for you; I can understand your pain. But please, don't give up and stop living. There are still people here who care for you. You have to keep living your life. It's very empathetic of you to hold onto the memory of Lady Une, but you mustn't stop living completely. It's wonderful to keep your loved ones close once they've passed away, but at the same time, be alive. You've still got the rest of your life left, and I don't want to see you waste it."

Mariemaia gathered up her courage and looked up at Noin. Instantly she felt her stomach tighten in knots, and guilt overflow her. Noin looked horrible; she looked pale and about to collapse at any moment. Her hair was in disarray, and the bags under her eyes suggested that she hadn't had enough sleep, if any at all. Mariemaia knew that Noin had probably been up for days searching for her, even though she should've known exactly where to find her. She immediately regretted her decision to run away; she knew she couldn't hide from her problems. She just wanted to be able to see her 'mother' again, that's all. 

As if reading her thoughts, Noin spoke again.

"Please come back with me, Miss Mariemaia. You can come and visit Lady Une's grave as often as you like. We just want to take care of you, and it's quite a shock for us to discover that you've disappeared. Miss Relena and I want you to be happy, and if you're not happy in the Sanc Kingdom, then you don't have to stay. But you can't spend the rest of your life sitting here. Please, Miss Mariemaia, come back with me."

Tears filled her eyes once again, and Mariemaia lunged forward and held Noin tightly. Her tears rolled down her cheeks, and Noin tried her best to comfort the grief-stricken girl.

"It's ok, Mariemaia. It's alright. You can cry. Everything's going to be okay now, I promise."

*******************

Quatre walked into the Winner Corporation Headquarters, and was met with smiling faces and cheerful 'hellos.' He walked through the security guards, who nodded acknowledgement to him. Into the main foyer, through a hallway past the conference room, Quatre took an elevator up onto the third floor. He turned left, and walked down a relatively short hallway until he came up against grand wooden doors. He took out a small golden key from his pocket, and placed it in the lock. A small click echoed down the halls as he turned the key, and Quatre pushed the doors open to reveal his office. He went in, and closed the door behind him. The office was nicely decorated; the wooden walls had pictures of his ascendants, the people who had owned the office before him. A Persian rug covered the floor, and a crystal chandelier hung above, lighting the room softly. A desk was placed on the wall furthest from the doors, and Quatre walked over and sat behind it. He looked at the stack of paperwork he still had to do and groaned. 

_What a way to start the day,_ he thought to himself, but then a thought hit him. _At least I have something to look forward to tonight, _he smiled as he thought of the party. Thinking about the party reminded him that he still had no one to go with. 

'Call her,' a little voice in his head told him. 'And ask her.'

'But what if she says no,' another voice argued back. 'You hardly know her, either. You'd feel totally stupid if she said no.'

Still half arguing with himself mentally, Quatre decided that it was worth the risk. He picked up the phone, and dialed the number on the business card Sonya had given him. The secretary picked up the phone, and he asked to talk to Sonya.

"I'm sorry, sir, Miss Dracy isn't at work today. She took the day off. May I take a message?"

"Uh… no, that's ok. Thank you very much."

He hung up the receiver, and turned back to face his paperwork.

Took the day off? I wonder what she's doing… 

*******************

Duo sat impatiently beside Heero, fidgeting with whatever he could find, waiting for the teacher to come in and the lesson to start. He leant back on his chair, put his hands behind his head, and closed his eyes. He opened them again when he heard the door open and feet come in. He sat up straight, and looked down expectantly at the teacher; except when he looked at her, he saw someone else walking beside her. He saw the familiar ebony hair, turtleneck, and khaki pants. He smiled to himself. 

_She's even in this class. This must be my lucky day._

"Good morning, everyone," the teacher spoke. "I'd like you all to meet your new classmate. Please introduce yourself."

"My name is Blade Violet. It's a pleasure to be here," she said in a melodic voice, smiling as she did so. Some of the students smiled or said 'hello' back, before the teacher assigned Blade a seat. 

"Where shall be put you? Hmm… take the empty seat beside Duo please."

_And it just got better,_ Duo thought to himself. Blade quietly walked up to Duo and slipped into her seat. 

"Hey!" he greeted cheerfully.

"Hi," she answered.

"I'm Duo, and this is my friend Heero," Duo said, indicating with his right hand towards Heero.

"Hi Heero," Blade greeted. She was only met with a sort of grunt.

"Don't mind him; he's always like that. So, are you new in this colony?"

"Yeah, I used to live on Earth."

"Really, now? So, that would make you an earthling?"

"Well, yes. Why? Don't you like earthlings?"

"Not particularly. But for you I'll make an exception," he beamed.

"I guess I'm a lucky earthling, then," she replied teasingly.

"Guess so," Duo said softly, and they turned their attention back to the teacher, who was talking about the history of wars.

*******************

_Author's Note:_ Ok, ok, I know this was boring and a very horrible chapter. But I'm one of those authors who's into character development, so bare with me. I promise it'll get more interesting soon. Kywraith Amnesi, I really love your story, and I hope to write like that someday. Myst-Lady, I think I just might write a Darien/Relena fic. It would be interesting. I love writing pairings that people hate. Thank you both for reviewing, and please keep giving me feedback. I need reviews! 

That's all for now!

~Seeress~   


	3. Who are you?

Shadow of the Revolution 

_Disclaimer:_ I don't own Gundam Wing. Gundam Wing belongs to Sunrise and its respective creators.

*******************

Shadow of the Revolution

Chapter 3

The bell rang again, signaling the end of the school day. Blade picked up her things, and headed out as quickly as possible. She had a lot of things to do tonight, and she needed time to prepare. In her rush, she didn't notice a pair of cobalt eyes following her every move. Heero examined the girl carefully from the fourth floor of the school.

_There's just something about her that's not right, _he thought; his instincts from the battlefield, although hardly used in almost two years, were still very sharp. He could tell that this girl wasn't who she seemed to be, but he didn't know why she would need to pretend to be who she wasn't, or what her purpose was. He was just certain that the girl meant big trouble. He'd have to keep a close eye on her.

Well, we'll see how long you can keep up this charade. In the meantime, let's find out who you are.

Heero turned on his laptop, and cracked the school security codes with ease. He looked through the student files, and found what he was looking for.

"Hmm…" he stared intently at the glowing screen in front of him.

"Name: Blade Violet. Age: 17. Born: After Colony 180." He skipped some of the information about her height, weight, eye colour, hair colour, and all the irrelevant information. He found nothing of interest to him in the school files, but he decided to take a look at her civilian profile. He hacked into the government computers, and searched for the profile Blade Violet. 

"Found it," he said monotonously, as the screen was filled with data on the mysterious Blade.

"Hmmm… Mother: Theresa Decanters. Father: --" his eyes widened in astonishment at the name he saw for that blank. "What? But how? He…" That was certainly strange. It didn't really make much sense. Heero decided to come back to that information later, and read on. 

"Mother deceased in childbirth. Hmm… she does have one living relative though. Her uncle Johansson… he was her legal guardian until she was adopted by--" Heero pulled back from his laptop in shock, knocking over the chair he was sitting in. He regained himself, and placed his hands on either side of his laptop, head bent down. 

"This… can't be true. How could that be?" Heero asked the silence of the room. "This is all wrong." 

Everything he had just acquired, the information on this strange girl, just wasn't possible. None of the data on this girl made any sense, and he really didn't know how to react to it. 

_What would **they** do? _He asked himself the possibilities of how the other pilots would react. He was stunned when he realized what he just did. He, the Perfect Soldier, just admitted to himself that he needed help, that he, for the first time in his life, couldn't handle the situation on his own. He needed help to succeed. The thought brought back memories of when the pilots had fought together to bring peace to the world, each with their own unique abilities and each with their different strengths and weaknesses.

_We make a great team, _he realized. _Maybe it won't be so bad to see them again and ask for their advice._

For the past week, Duo had been on Heero's case about attending the big celebration that night to meet up with the other pilots and to make their mark on the event.

"After all," he had said. "We were the ones who helped bring peace to the world. You need to come to this party."

A small smirk played on Heero's lips. If he wanted to see the other pilots, he'd have to go to the party tonight. And of course, she'd be there too. He hadn't seen her in person for a long time, only seeing her on TV or on the radio. She had grown quite a bit, in his opinion, but then again, he thought to himself, so had he.

_This'll be one heck of a party, _he thought sarcastically. Duo would think that he'd convinced Heero to come, that he convinced Heero he need to be there, and he'd never let him hear the end of it. He did need to be at the party, although not because Duo told him that he would be. Even so, Duo was right about Heero needing to be at the party, and Heero couldn't even stand the thought. In his own weird way, Duo was able to predict things such as these, and Heero wasn't one bit happy about that.

I hate it when Duo's right.

*******************

Blade unlocked the door to her apartment and stepped in. She went over to her laptop on her desk, and switched it on. While she waited for the system to load, she went to check if she had any voice messages. The familiar recorded sound played in her ears.

Beep. "You have… 2 new messages." Beep.

"Hey Blade, where ya been? Long time no see. Anyways, me and some friends are having this party tonight; you know, we figured since everybody else is celebrating, why shouldn't we? Hehe… so, you in or not? Call me! I'd love to talk longer, but I've got some stuff to take care of. Talk to ya later, gal!" 

Beep.

"…" Blade turned up the volume of the answering machine to hear, but no sound came out. She could guess who that was from. 'Don't fail me' screamed at her from the silence of the machine. It beeped again, indicating the end of the message. She turned back to her laptop, which was all loaded and ready to go. She entered her personal ID number into the space, and all types of codes and blueprints jumped at her. 

"Let's see how we're doing, shall we?" she said to herself.

Typing in the code number of the file, she opened up a blueprint of the National Hall, the place where the banquet was to be held that night. On the blueprint, appeared several beeping red dots, all pinpointing the location of the deadly explosives she had planted there. They were all stationed at the main entrances, to ensure that no back-up troops came to prevent her retreat. Most of the ordinary soldiers were no match for her; after all, she had been trained from a very young age. Her biggest concern was the Gundam pilots. They would be inside, and if one of them happened to see her, that would complicate things; but if her comrades did what they were supposed to do, the pilots would be "occupied" at the time. She made sure the bombs were in the exact co-ordinates; even one degree could make everything go awry. After checking that the bombs were in place, she entered more codes for another blueprint of the National Hall, this time with beeping green spots. This was her check on her equipment that she had hidden in there earlier, to be sure that it was where it was supposed to be, and that no one discovered it. Of course that's unlikely, all her equipment had a special mechanism to blend with their environment. Still, better safe than sorry. She definitely couldn't mess this mission up; she'd never be able to show her face around HQ ever again, let alone face her comrades. If this mission failed, it would be her fault; she was the main person involved in the plan, and the one in charge. After checking that all the 'things' were in place for the big event, she started to contact her comrades. Entering more codes, she used the secure foundation communication lines to contact the others.

"This is agent LB4 calling. I repeat; this is agent LB4. Do you copy, R-squad? Over."

"This is H2, calling LB4. Nothing amiss. Everything is going according to plan. Mission is underway. Over."

"Very good. Carry on; and be cautious. Over."

"Will do. Over and out."

"This is LB4. R-squad, do you copy? Over."

"Loud and clear, LB4. C3 here. Smooth as glass. Should be no problems. Over."

"Don't disappoint me, C3. Be careful. Over"

"Don't worry; everything is fine. Over and out."

"Calling D1 and J5. Progress report, please. Over." She waited patiently while the communication line hissed static into her otherwise-silent room.

"D1 and J5. Do you copy? Over." Silence. Still nothing.

What in the world are they doing? She thought furiously, while her hands brought up another window on the screen, with indicators as to where the other two agents were. But before she could get a good look at the statistics, she heard the familiar giggle that irritated her so, and she growled softly under her breath.

"Now, now, aren't we in a bad mood? No need to get so aggravated over such a little thing. We have bigger matters to attend to."

"Where were you, D1? Why didn't you answer?" she asked, annoyed.

"Well, you didn't want every top executive of the World Nation to know about us, now did you? I was in the middle of a very important World Nation meeting; oh, Miss Relena was fabulous, as always! You should have seen her. She almost convinced me that peace was a good thing."

"That is not a laughing matter, D1. Now, what is your progress?"

"How else would it be, but perfect as usual? Everything is working out very well."

"Good. Don't be a failure." And quickly switching off the communicator so that she didn't have to speak with that **agent **again, she went back to focusing on the indicator of the remaining agent.

"Check location of J5," she said into the voice command.

"Checking status…" came the mechanical reply. "Location: Area F. Colony X18999. Section 11."

"Bring up the colony map." Instantly, a map of the colony X18999 appeared.

"Enhance," she told the computer. The colony map was replaced with a section map, and then finally a map of the block where the indicator was. She screamed in frustration as she saw where the beeping indicator on the girl was headed. 

"Stupid, stupid girl. You'll pay **dearly** for that." She clicked on the communicator once again, and called out to the other three agents.

"Remaining R-squad. J5 has turned on us. She is in colony X18999, heading towards the Preventers base there. Bring this traitor back before she does any damage. **Do not fail**," she said, her voice dripping malice with every word. "Otherwise I have a very severe punishment in mind. UNDERSTOOD?" she shouted into the communicator.

Three female voices responded to her question.

"Yes, ma'am!"

*******************

"Sir, J5 turned on us today," LB4 spoke through to the unclear image of her supervisor. 

"Fortunately we were able to capture her before she reached anyone, however I'm not sure whether she had sent information to any outsiders while she still co-operated with us. I cross-checked her references again, and I found that she is agent number 2537463 of the Preventers, otherwise code-named--"

"Dash," her superior interrupted before she could finish.

"You knew, sir?" she asked, only half astonished. Working for him all these years taught her that he knew more than he let on.

"Yes, I knew. I accepted her into the foundation to gain information from her. I used her code to hack into the Preventers' mainframe computer. That way, no one would find anything out of the ordinary if they checked. I also needed to know how much she knew about us, but none of her information would've been very useful to the Preventers. But in any case, I have seized all data that she has sent back to her Headquarters, and have it in my possession. I believe you have her locked up, do you not, my dear Lady?"

"Yes sir. I also wished to ask what you would like to do with her, sir."

"Send her over to me. I'll have someone take care of her."

"As you wish, sir. Will you be finding a replacement for her, sire?"

"As a matter of fact, I already have an appropriate candidate."

"Oh? Who is she, sire?" She heard him chuckle softly before answering.

"All in good time, Lady; you'll see when she gets there. I think you'll be very happy with my choice."

There was a brief moment of silence before LB4 cleared her throat and spoke again.

"If that is all sir, I'll excuse myself now."

"Of course. You're free to go. I believe you still have much work to do."

She reached for the button that would disconnect the communication line, when he spoke again.

"Just another thing, dear Lady. Don't disappoint me."

"Never, sire." And with that she cut the link of the line. She turned around and headed for the bathroom to take a cool, refreshing shower. She just needed to relax a little, but that was hard to do since there were still many things to be done before the celebration that night.

We're the revolution, and tonight is the perfect night to dominate the world…

*******************

**Author's Notes: **What do you think of it so far? I know it's not very interesting, but hey, ya gotta get the setting and character personalities out of the way before you can go on with the plot, so bare with me. Thank you to those who review the story, and I'll try to make this better. I know where I'm going to go with this, but some new ideas are coming to mind, so if the story is a bit strange at times, it's because of these mixed ideas.

Anyways, hope you enjoyed!

~Seeress

P.S. Does Heero seem a little OOC to you people?   


	4. Let's Get the Party Started!

Shadow of the Revolution

**_Chapter 4_**

_Disclaimer:_ Gundam Wing doesn't belong to me. I wish it did, but it doesn't. However, this plot does, so please don't take it.

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"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls," the voice of the ringmaster of the circus boomed out over the speakers. "I present to you the knife-throwing act of our circus, starring Catherine and Trowa!"

The audience cheered loudly, welcoming the beautiful knife thrower and emotionless clown. Trowa bowed and Catherine curtsied as the colourful spotlights were shone upon them. Trowa, wearing his clown getup and painted half-mask, positioned himself in front of the target board, while Catherine was entertaining the audience with some tricks.  They cheered loudly when she was done, and Catherine prepared to throw the knives. The first sharp blade was thrown, and it buried itself only a few centimetres from his face. She threw two more, before doing a combination throw and released all her remaining 5 knives at once. One landed above Trowa's head, two beside his legs, and two above his arms. The audience burst into a loud applause, and the two bowed, before making their exit in a grand puff of smoke. Trowa quickly went to change, since after the lion act, he was performing again in an acrobatic routine. Quietly, so that no one would notice, Trowa climbed up the long ladder to the elevated platform above. He could hardly see where he was going; the only lights in the circus on at the time were the small spotlights pinpointed at the lions. The loud cheer from the audience told him that the performance was over, and that he would be performing next. His performance was announced, and Trowa stepped forward into the public eye, grabbing hold of his high-hanging swing. He looked out to see all the eager faces of the crowd; it made him want to smile. There was a large assortment of people: little children, babies, mothers, fathers, grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles, and any other relatives you could think of. Deep down, Trowa envied them, knowing who their parents were, what their name was. He could use his gymnast abilities to entertain people. He liked making people smile; this job suited him perfectly. As his eyes wandered over the huge masses of people a peculiar girl caught his interest. She was standing at the far back of the stadium. She was leaning lightly against the tent's side, her ebony hair flowing down the left side of her face. She looked composed, arms folded across her chest, her eyes watching his every move. Her eyes were the things that sparked his interest. From the far distance, he could tell that she had deep hazel eyes. Her gaze upon him was one of intensity, and Trowa unwillingly found himself unable to break their eye contact. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but she made him very uncomfortable. Maybe it was because her gaze reminded of Heero's gaze: powerful, stubborn, and resistant. But they were also eyes of a warrior, a warrior who wanted war. She reminded him of Quatre when he was manipulated by the Zero System, and it was not a pleasant thought. To his surprise the girl smiled, and Trowa realized he had been staring at her. Her smile brightened her features, but the warmth of her smile did not reach her icy eyes. Deciding he'd better get on with his performance, Trowa finally turned away from the girl and leaned his weight onto the swing, jumping off of the platform. He then shifted, and moved onto the next swing, and the next. The crowd watched astonished as Trowa moved onto the last swing, did his trademark flip, and landed gracefully on the platform on the other side. An explosion of cheers broke the silence as Trowa performed, and he quickly bowed to the audience. He looked up to see the strange girl he saw earlier, but found that she was gone.

*******************

Mariemaia sat in her room with her head bowed. It had been a couple of weeks since her attempt to run away, and she had returned to her normal routine in the Sanq Kingdom. She went to school, came back and did her homework, and afterward stayed in her room. She was not used to it, having been trained since a very young age to be in command and live in the heart of battle. It was so hard to control yourself when everything, all the systems and nerves in your body were practically begging for war. She never told anyone, and behaved like she should. How could you tell someone in a peace nation you lived only for battle? She acted everyday like nothing was wrong, and probably for everyone else there was nothing wrong. But for her, ever since Lady Une died, life had lost its value. She wanted the thrill of battle, something to excite her senses between these long, dreary days. In battle, months may seem like minutes, but here, minutes seemed like years. No one could possibly understand, no one who lived here, anyway. All of them were pacifists, unable to see through the bloodshed to the beauty of war. She longed for war, longed to see the magnificent battle staged before her own, longed to see her father in battle. She had never known her father, and her mother refused to tell her of him. She later found out from Lady Une that the reason her mother never spoke of her father was because they didn't know each other. Her father had been an anonymous sperm donor, and her mother happened to have his child. Her grandfather Dekim said she was her father's pride and joy, but how could she be when she didn't even know him, and he didn't know her?

She sighed, thinking of her worthless life. The silence of the room was driving her insane; such a contrast it had to the battle cries of war. From behind her, she heard rustling and turned her wheelchair around. She was startled to see a man standing there. How she got in, she didn't know. He was elegant, tall, and chic. He was wearing a military uniform, and Mariemaia had seen enough pictures of him to recognize who this was.

"You're… you're…" she stuttered, unable to finish.

"Mariemaia, my you've grown," he said almost fondly. "I know you hate it here. You were trained for war. You can't possibly live here. This is the life of cowards."

At these words, Mariemaia recovered herself and gained some of her spunk.

"What do you want?" she asked coldly.

"Why Mariemaia, no need to get sadistic. I thought I would be doing you a favour by coming, because I know you hate it here."

"How could you possibly know what I'm feeling?" she almost shouted. "You've never been there for me."

"I know you enough to know you love war. And a war is exactly what I'm planning to stage. You'd be able to be a figurehead once again, after we claim victory."

"A war?" she asked. "That's impossible. All weapons were destroyed and prohibited a year ago"

"Nothing is impossible, Mariemaia. I'm alive, aren't I?"

Mariemaia considered the choices in her head. Starting a war was foolish; it killed many innocents and destroys everything. But it also has beauty, a beauty she hadn't seen for a very long time. She'd have control, and a beautiful battle would play before her eyes. Should she choose the right choice, or her own selfishness?

The man stretched out a hand to her, and she hesitated. Giving in to her own temptations, she took his hand. After that he had whispered softly to her.

"Welcome to my world, Mariemaia. A beautiful world of paradise…"

*******************

Blade smiled to herself as she got off the shuttle and set foot on the moon. She had come to the place to shop, still needing an outfit for the full-size party that night. She wanted to make sure she looked her best. She already had a dress made and waiting for her to pick it up, but she still needed a matching scarf to wear, some new shoes, and maybe a ring.  She set out to all her favourite places to shop first, then proceeded to enter any other stores where she found anything that caught her eye. In the end, she got a nice pair of baby-blue shoes that matched her dress. She didn't find a scarf, but instead found a beautiful silver sapphire necklace that fit snugly around her neck, with an armband to match. She went to the tailor's next to pick up her dress. It looked beautiful, and she paid for it and took the next shuttle flight out to earth. With her many missions, she had an apartment on almost every colony and every country on earth. She headed for the reconstructed Sanq Kingdom, home of the National Hall.  Once there, she got to work right away.

Emerging three hours later from her bathroom, Blade looked quite ravishing. Her silk blue dress was cut horizontally, leaving her left shoulder open. Her armband was worn on that arm, and the matching necklace gleamed in the light. Her hair was worn in curls, with half of it left down. Her eye shadow was the same colour as the dress, and not too much of it was applied. Her lipstick was a soft shade of pink, almost the exact same colour as her lips. A mild pink blush coloured her cheeks, and neither her mascara nor eyeliner were over-used. The side slits in her dress revealed her new shoes on her feet as she walked. She looked in the mirror and grinned. She didn't think any of the pilots would recognize her like this. She grabbed her purse, keys, and 'bracelet' as she headed out the door. 

*******************

Blade arrived right on time, and her assigned limo driver drove away. She took out the invitation from her purse, and handed it to the servitor at the door. He checked her invitation, and then beckoned her inside. Through the rotating doors, Blade saw the elegance of the Hall, beautifully decorated for the 'joyous' occasion. The many large chandeliers were lighted, heightening the sophistication of the hall, bathing everything in a beautiful yellow light. The walls were covered with pictures of many great politicians and world leaders. Blade was standing on a wide staircase that separated in the middle and broke off into two directions, and a lower staircase that led straight down. She descended down slowly and gracefully, fully aware of the attention she was receiving. Many of the older guests who had arrived earlier had taken to staring at her. She remained nonchalant, and nodded a greeting to them politely as she passed them on her way down. She saw that the Hall had two other doors, one leading to the dining area and the other to the ballroom. She searched around for signs of her comrades. She found them easily enough, and the pilots along with them. She didn't see Wufei though; she wondered what could have happened. She was told that **all** the pilots were attending. 

_What are you complaining about?_ She asked herself. _One less of them means less work for you._

She walked around the main foyer, and watched as the guests arrived. She talked to many people, and they found her charming and polite. She made sure to avoid the pilots, in case they recognized her. After a while, a bell sounded, signalling that dinner was about to be served. Blade followed the huge flock of people heading towards the dinning area. She made sure to stay well behind, and seated herself as far away from the pilots as possible. The appetizer was served, followed by the main course. Dessert was excellent, and needless to say Blade mentally kicked herself for eating so much before a mission. She was so full she felt like exploding. She waited politely for the other guests to finish eating, chatting with the man sitting beside her. He had long blond hair and the bluest eyes. He was a Preventer, it seemed, and his name was Zechs Merquise. Before dinner had fully finished, Blade had excused herself from the conversation to go to the bathroom. Instead, she had headed up the staff stairs to the second floor balcony. She flipped over her 'bracelet,' and the time on it said 00:48. She waited, and as soon as the numbers said 00:00, guests poured out of the dining area into the main foyer. She pressed something on her bracelet, and a beeping arrow guided her to her stashed equipment. She found it with no problem, and from the corner of her eye, she saw Relena Peacecraft take her place on stage behind the podium.

"It's time to get this party started…"

*******************

_Author's Notes:_ Yay, I got the next chapter out! Do you people know the plot yet? Guess who the mysterious man is? Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It took the better part of my day to finish. Thank you to those who reviewed: Kywraith Amnesi, Myst-Lady, Shin'sTwin, Misty, and Meghanna Starsong. Misty, I apologize for Heero's lack of involvement in this story **so far.** Next chapter is mainly for him, but the main person in this fic is Blade. I will really try to give the pilots more of a role in this, but you'll have to wait for later chapters of the story for more G-boys involvement. Oh, and if you'll please, could someone read my fic Restraints? 

Keep those reviews coming, please!

~Seeress.

  ****


	5. Operation Assassination

Shadow of the Revolution

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_Disclaimer:_ I don't own GW, but I do own this story's plot, and I ask that you don't take it. (Not like it's worth taking though, is it?)

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Shadow of the Revolution

Chapter 5 

Sally was busily walking around checking the security of the place. Since Lady Une had died, she had taken over as Commander of the Preventers. Although she was there to also enjoy the celebration and festivities, she and the other Preventers were still in charge of security. Not that she was particularly worried; as long as the Gundam pilots were there, Relena and the other guests would be relatively safe. Still, she had to do her duties and check. She picked up her two-way radio and contacted the other Preventers agents. 

"This is Water," Sally said into the speaker, using her codename. "Perimeter, is the area secure? Over."

She released the talk button, and waited for a reply.

"Water, the area is secure. Nobody here. Over."

She then proceeded to talk to other agents positioned at other locations.

"Entrance, is the building secure? Over."

"Main doors are closed; all guests have arrived. Building is secure. Over."

"Covert ops, are all guests within the main foyer? Over."

"Directing the last of them there. Over."

"Aerial, is the rooftop secure? Over."

"Nothing on radar, or visual. Heat sensors don't pick up anything. Nothing beyond, nothing on rooftop. We're secure here."

Content, she tried the covert agents again.

"Covert ops, are the guests in the main foyer? Over."

"All safe and accounted for, ma'am. Over."

She put her radio away, tucked it safely into her purse. She was tired, having walked around the building at least three times and her shoes were starting to bite her feet. The heels made the soles of her feet sore, and she longed to be back in her work shoes and uniform. Sally headed toward a large white pillar where she saw Noin waiting for her. She smiled at her friend, happy that she could relax for a little while before having to go back to work again. They didn't say anything to each other, but both looked up toward the podium, as Relena was about to make her speech.

*******************

Heero was standing in the huge mass of people, with Duo, Hilde, Quatre, Trowa, Catherine, and an unusually talkative Dorothy at his side. The girl had talked non-stop to him the minute he entered through the doors, and he was starting to find her more annoying than Duo. The pilots had only seen each other once they were at the dinner table, and were now reunited and chatting happily. Wufei had called to say he couldn't make it because he was being sent on another mission of great importance. 

Out of the corner of his eye, Heero saw Sally and Noin. He was surprised at the amount of security the place had. None of the other guests had noticed, but he saw that the people at the door were Preventers, some of the 'guests' were undercover Preventers, and as he was entering, he saw a person on the rooftop wearing a Preventers uniform. All the entrances, fire exits and all, had Preventers guarding them, and Heero noticed that Sally had walked around to check security a number of times already. Heck, he was willing to bet his life that even the valet was a Preventer!

He saw Sally and Noin look toward the podium, and followed their gaze there as well. His breath caught in his throat, and it took him a while to remember to breathe again. There she stood, as beautiful as ever. She wore a deep green velvet dress that flowed down elegantly to the floor. Her hair was put up into a stylish twisted bun on her head. She had a silk scarf draped around her shoulders, and she smiled into the crowd. He wanted to be up there with her, to hold her tight. She looked so much older, much more mature and stunning. She had never ceased to amaze him, the way she could persuade people and capture their hearts. She had a natural talent and charm to bring out the best in the people she met. She had even done it to him; she was the reason he was able to survive after the war. She gave him back his humanity, his life. Otherwise, he'd probably have died that night in the fight against Mariemaia, died in the cockpit of Zero. But the thought of being able to see her again, with her presence so close by, had sustained him to make it out of the damaged Wing Zero. He had been in bliss that night, when she had held him close to her. Although he was losing consciousness, he felt her warmth and her scent envelope him, heard her soothing words and felt her hand running through is hair.

He saw her cerulean eyes scan the crowd, and they found his own cobalt ones. For a moment, everything faded, and there was just the two of them, staring at each other. She smiled at him, a smile she only reserved for him alone. Inside, he felt his heart beat faster and his palms get sweaty. But on the outside, his emotionless soldier's mask was in place and he merely stared at her, trying to keep the tugging at the corners of his mouth from producing a smile. He failed, and instead ended up giving back to her the shadow of a grin. That was enough to make her happy, and the urge to run to him and be held in those strong arms was overwhelming. Still, she kept her poise, and then the rest of the world reappeared before her eyes, shattering their brief moment with each other.

Quatre observed quietly, quite aware that the two were locked in a trance. He smiled, knowing very well how much Heero cared for Relena, but would never admit to it.

_Still the perfect soldier,_ Quatre thought. _No…not the perfect soldier, not anymore, _he thought again. _Now he's more like the perfect human mystery._

Relena was conscious of the apprehensive crowd waiting for her to begin. She softly cleared her throat, then walked up to the microphone to proclaim the first year anniversary to peace. 

*******************

Blade pulled back the drapes covering her stuff and quickly went through her equipment. She pulled out a duffle bag, and inside was an unassembled laser gun, which she was going to use to assassinate Relena Peacecraft. Amongst the many pieces of the gun was a plastic bag. Inside were a pair of black leather boots, a pair of black gloves and a pair of what appeared to be sunglasses. Blade promptly shed her gorgeous evening gown, revealing a black, fitted top cut horizontally to match her dress cut, and a short black leather skirt which ran a little above her knees. She quickly took the gloves and put them on, and discarding her new pair of blue high heels she put on her leather boots, which ran up to a little below her knees. She took the pieces of the gun out of the duffle bag, and replaced it with her clothes. She wasn't in a hurry; listening to Relena's speeches from before told her she had plenty of time. She was just used to doing everything fast, the way she had been trained. Now she sat on the floor, starting to assemble the gun, while listening to the Vice Foreign Minister and Sanq Princess talk. Carefully, she put together the three main pieces, and placed on the smaller others. She snickered here and there while listening to the speech, laughing at how naive the Pacifism Princess was. She supposed she couldn't blame her, really, but it was still incredible that the Princess could be so unbelievably stupid at times.

She had finished attaching the laser, and now was watching Relena intently, leaning lightly against the railing but being careful to hide behind the long curtains to keep from being seen. She'd decided that she'd kill Relena after she was done, or near to the finish.

_You can give one final performance for the world before you die, Relena Peacecraft…_

*******************

Heero listened intently to Relena, watching her every move. She didn't seem nervous or anxious, even in the least bit. He didn't think all the things she was saying were right, but she was close to the truth, and Heero just dismissed it and continued to listen. He found that most of the things she said brought back memories, the good and bad alike. Just even listening to her brought back memories… memories of that day he came to kill her…

*******************

Blade decided that Relena had put up a spectacular performance, and chose to kill her right then. She slipped on the 'sunglasses,' and pressed a small switch on the side of them, and lines and numbers filled the lenses. The pair of ordinary seeming sunglasses was actually programmed with the Zero system, equipped to help her successfully terminate all obstacles and complete all missions. She pointed her laser gun out past the curtains to get a clear shot, and when she was locked on target, her finger was on the trigger… ready to kill.

*******************

_*FLASHBACK*_

_"Uh…" the guard grunted as he was hit in the back of the head, and fell, unconscious, to the ground. He stood over him, watching him with nothing but malice and disdain in his cold eyes._

_He headed out, now dressed in a clad blue military uniform to match his eyes. He had walked up onto the elevated balcony, and listened as she spoke. She looked glamorous in her gown, her hair done up magnificently. She looked majestic, and she radiated an aura of power and authority._

_"I believe that if we all work together, we can achieve peace," Relena spoke._

_The audience of the top executives of Romefeller was silent, and Relena was ashamed. She couldn't bring peace because she wasn't strong enough to convince these people to discard their weapons. She looked up and saw him, saw Heero, dressed in a military uniform he stole, pointing a gun at her head._

_'Do it, Heero,' she thought to herself. 'I've failed.'_

_He was about to pull the trigger, so close to pulling the trigger, when suddenly, someone in the audience clapped. His example was followed, and then the room was filled with applause as the rest of the people showed their approval by applauding her. Marquis Weridge had come up on the stage with others to congratulate her, and by the time she looked up again, he was gone._

_'Ok Relena,' he thought. 'Let's see what you can do. I'll defeat my own enemy.'_

_*END OF FLASHBACK*_

Heero smirked; so many a time had he gone to eliminate Relena, and so many a time he couldn't bring himself to do it. He looked around; the scene was certainly familiar. The National Hall had the same blueprint and layout plan as building in which he had gone to kill Relena, everything from the chandeliers to the wide, sweeping pillars and the same balcony. Heero's eyes wandered over the balcony, to the spot where he'd been when he was about to shoot her. He stopped dead in his tracks as he saw someone there; he supposed it was a girl, aiming a laser gun at Relena. He reached for his gun, but felt nothing there and remembered that he hadn't had his gun for almost a year now, ever since weapons were banned. He cursed; from the distance, he could see the girl would shoot at any minute, her finger on the trigger, starting to increase the pressure she put on it. He knew there was no time left, and did the only thing he could do. He lunged forward, pushing through the crowd of people trying to reach her, looking back at the assassin every now and then. Even as he was running, he knew he wouldn't make it in time. He tripped over something, and fell face-first onto the solid marble floor. He got up, bleeding nose and lip, and kept running. In his mind, he prayed he would get there in time.

_Please be ok, please be ok,_ his mind chanted the phrase through and through. By then, the guests had thought he had gone berserk, and many Preventers had been called to restrain him. They grabbed his arms, and he kicked viciously for them to let him go, but there were too many of them, and Heero found himself outnumbered. In his last desperate attempt, he shouted out to her at the top of his lungs.

"RELENA!"

*******************

_Author's Notes:_ Uh-oh… what will happen? Will Relena get shot, or will Heero save her? So, did you people like this chapter??? Sorry for the cliffhanger ending, but I thought it was a good place to stop this little episode. And I know it seems impossible for Heero to get taken down so easily, but just imagine that 100 people are flocking to stop just him. I think it's reasonable.

Thank you to the people who reviewed the last chapter: Kywraith Amnesi, E_Eevee, cat, Misty, and my critique Meghanna Starsong. Meghanna, you were a little off when you said I don't like romance and Relena… I'm actually quite a softie when it comes to Heero and Relena and their romance… and I do want to incorporate that in. 

Anyways, hope you liked it, and please REVIEW!

~Seeress  

P.S. Please don't mind the spelling/grammar mistakes, as they will be fixed later.


	6. Revealed

Shadow of the Revolution

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_Disclaimer:_ The standard disclaimer applies. (I don't own GW… blah blah blah…)

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Shadow of the Revolution

Chapter 6

Wufei visually searched the back alleyway of the colony with disgust. It smelled fouled, littered with everything from rotting furniture to tipped-over garbage cans and old newspapers. He had been sent here to infiltrate some kind of secret mob planning to disrupt the peace, but so far he had found absolutely nothing. According to his sources, this was where the group held their meetings; Wufei thought it was highly unlikely that a band skilled enough to break Preventers security and pose as a threat to their senior officer would meet in such a place as this, but you could never know. The way to hide is to blend in with the surroundings; just like hiding a tree in the forest.

A small gust of wind shook his coat and ruffled his hair, slightly causing his ponytail to swing. Something wasn't right, and Wufei knew it; that gut feeling he had, the sharp intuition and the knowledge he was being watched told Wufei that this was a trap. How they knew he was coming he didn't know, but that was almost the last thing on his mind. He stood with his hands in his pockets as if he hadn't sensed anything; he found that there was no need to stir up the enemy, to let them know he sensed them. He pretended he had taken a wrong turn, and was about to leave when a movement on his right caught his attention. 

Wufei turned just in time to see a fist launched straight for his face. He dodged sideways easily, and swung around to kick the attacker in the stomach. The attacker, preparing to strike again wasn't in a defensive position and didn't react fast enough; Wufei caught him full in the stomach with his knee, causing him to bawl over in pain, but not before Wufei had made sure the attacker was out for good and punched him hard in the face. The sound of running footsteps behind him signaled that there were more assailants on the way. He whipped around, coming face-to-face with seven enormous guys, all having a weapon of some sort. One of them had a baseball bat, another one had a club; two of them had hockey sticks and the remaining three had picked up some bent pipes they'd found beside one of the garbage cans. 

Wufei glared at them maliciously, totally unafraid of the imposing goons. If it's a fight they wanted, it's a fight they'd get. He doubted that they had any smarts to them; they were just drooling giants to him. A good punch here, a well-placed kick there, and they'd go down no problem. He wouldn't even need a weapon!

As they glared at each other, one of the humongous thugs charged at him, swinging his baseball bat wildly. The hooligan was fast for his size, much to Wufei's surprise, but he shook it off and kept on fighting. He landed a solid blow to the brute's chest, and smirked to his victory. Unbelievably, the punch didn't even affect the mountain of muscle, and Wufei's jaw dropped. The others stood there, grinning wickedly, as Wufei started to realize that the clash would be a little harder for him to win. Aggravated, Wufei initiated a series of fast punches, kicks, jabs, and almost anything he could come up with. The thug was slow to dodge, and caught all the hits Wufei was giving. Finally, after another hard kick, the ruffian fell backwards, eyes rolling to reveal only the whites, the baseball bat limp in his hand. 

Wufei stopped to wipe a small bead of sweat from his brow, and prepared for the others to attack. As if on cue, the remaining six assailants launched forward, and Wufei soon found himself dodging hockey sticks, a club, and pipes and throwing out punches at an astonishing rate. His speed strengthened his lack of power, but with odds of 6-to-1, even Wufei found it hard to keep up. He was starting to pant, hard, and his movements started to get sluggish. Once he was too slow, and found a hockey stick hitting his left shoulder with so much force it caused him to jerk back. Losing his rhythm, Wufei was slowing down, and found more hockey sticks, pipes, and clubs getting shoved in his face. The goons took full opportunity of Wufei's exhaustion, seeming to gain more energy from every hit they made. 

Wufei took the beating, trying to fight back as hard as he could. Being overpowered, however, he found that there was little he could do. Suddenly, the blows stopped, and Wufei looked up groggily. He realized he was sitting on his knees, hunched over in a half-crouch. He could taste the blood from his lips and nose, and felt the pain in his left hand. He knew he must have a huge bruise on his head, because it was throbbing painfully, and probably a couple of broken ribs, at least. Still, he would not go down that easily, and unsteadily tried to stand, preparing to attack. But before he could do anything, almost before he was standing properly, he felt another sharp pang in his head. 

Wufei fell forward limply onto the solid ground. 

He was out cold.

*******************

"LET GO OF ME!!!" Heero thundered at the Preventers trying to restrain him. Most of them seemed fearful of him, but they did as they were told and tried to constrain him as best as they could. In an instant, Heero felt the presence of someone beside him, and was able to catch a half-glance of Duo staring at him worriedly.

"Heero! Hey, Heero! What's the matter with you?!? I think you've had one too many drinks, Heero. Calm down. HEERO!" Duo had to shout to be heard over the commotion. Beside him, an equally worried Quatre watched fearfully. 

_It's exactly like that time he was controlled by the Zero system…_ Quatre thought to himself, remembering all too well the time he had to fight against Heero to bring him to his senses. 

From the podium above, Relena watched Heero violently try to reach her. She had heard him call out her name, but she had no clue why he was acting the way he was or even what was happening. Most of the guests were very alarmed, moving as far away from the upheaval as they possibly could; all of them were bunched up against the opposite wall of the room. Had the tension in the air not been so serious, Relena thought she might have laughed. The pale white faces of the people, the Preventers trying to contain Heero, Duo and Quatre trying to calm him down; everything was in such an uproar, and her she was standing at the top watching it all. 

Suddenly she realized that Heero was bleeding, and she was panic-stricken. She wanted to run to him, but somehow her legs didn't move. Instead, she stood there, dumb folded, and was able to catch a word or two of what Heero was trying to say.

"Let go… she'll get shot… get her out of here…" 

She was more than a little confused after listening to that. Who'll get shot? What was Heero talking about? Then the realization started to seep in. The only person in the room that was in the open and made an easy target was her, and Heero had probably seen something. Her eyes went wide from horror, but her body was still uncooperative, even though she knew she had to move and save herself. She just continued to stare straight ahead of her unseeingly, felt the pressure of someone pushing against her, a loud bang, terrified shrieks, and someone whispering to her urgently. And then everything went black…   

*******************

_Goodbye, Relena Peacecraft._

Blade pulled the trigger and watched. As if in slow motion, she could see the laser beam heading towards its target, heading right towards Relena's head. It was inches from reaching her, when a blur of movement went hurdling toward Relena, knocking her over so that instead of hitting her head, the shot had went into her shoulder. Heero Yuy had saved her; that was the incompetence of a member of her team. The girl would be in serious trouble afterwards. Blade cursed softly, hoping the shot was deep enough to kill. Just to make sure, she prepared to finish the job. All the people were too busy checking to see whether the Vice Foreign Minister was alright that they didn't even take any notice of her. She had to wait for the gun to reload for a couple of seconds, then locked onto the target once again…

*******************

"Relena! Relena! Please, be okay," Heero shook her fearfully. There was silence in the room, everyone being too stunned to make a sound. Trowa was the first to break the silence as he came over to help Heero aid Relena, and Quatre and Duo nervously followed his example. Heero took off the jacket of his tux and wrapped it around Relena. Her wound was deep, dangerously so. Blood was pouring out at an incredible rate, and already a pool was starting to form on the floor where Relena's limp figure lay. He knew if the bleeding didn't stop, she would definitely die.

"Duo," his voice was hoarse. Duo couldn't reply, but looked at him to show he had heard. "Give me your jacket."

Obediently, Duo did as he was told. Heero rolled the jacket up into a little bundle and placed it onto Relena's wound, applying pressure to slow the bleeding. Noin and Sally arrived soon after, running from the back of the room as fast as they could. 

"Oh my god…" Sally whispered, then turned to the Preventers standing nearest to her. "Call an ambulance! Get the guests out now!" she commanded, authority returning to her. 

The Preventers snapped to attention, and proceeded to evacuate the building.

*******************

Trowa looked on at the panorama folding before him. The Vice Foreign Minister had been shot, they were waiting for the ambulance, and the building was being evacuated. He traced a path with his eyes to where the shot had come from, and found that there was a girl there, taking aim again. The girl hadn't noticed he had seen her; Trowa took full advantage of that, and did a somersaulting back flip to land gracefully on the railing of the balcony, only a few centimeters from her. He had caught her attention, and she turned away from Relena to look at him. Before she could do anything, he kicked the gun out of her hand, and it clattered down from the balcony to land loudly on the marble floor below. 

Blade smirked slightly, despite the fact nothing was going according to plan. She knew that the other pilots now saw her, and all of them were rushing up to where she stood.

_So I've been revealed,_ she smiled secretively. _If by any miracle the Vice Foreign Minister lives, I'll finish the job later. Right now it's time to blow this joint._

She stared back at Gundam pilot 0-3, a.k.a. Trowa. He regarded her with his one jaded eye, his glare steely cold but nonetheless indulgent. He hadn't attacked her, nor called for the others. He merely continued to stare at her, as if seeing her and knowing her more than she herself did. Blade narrowed her eyes behind the glasses, searching for some kind of a trap for her to let her guard down. But his gaze was so tranquil, so sincere, and for a moment she could do nothing but stare at him, at the one shimmering, emerald eye. She got lost in a sea of green, and they remained that way until footsteps behind Blade told her the cavalry had arrived.

*******************

_Author's Notes:_ Sorry it took a while to get this chapter up. So, what'd you think? Please leave me a review. Any comments, criticism, praises, flames, etc. I'd really like to get some feedback!!!

Any suggestions on who I should pair Blade with??? I have a person in mind, but I'd like to get some more ideas.

Thank you to Meghanna Starsong, kmf, and Misty for reviewing the last chapter. I'm finally able to start with the plot after five chapters. Hope your enjoying this story so far. If you didn't fall asleep halfway, then it's good enough for me.

Anyways, next chapter should be out a little late. I have a history essay and science project to work on, but I'll do my best to post it ASAP.

That's it for now!

~Seeress


	7. Captured

Shadow of the Revolution

__

_Disclaimer:_ I don't own GW.

*******************

Shadow of the Revolution

Chapter 7

Noin was in the ambulance with Relena, holding her cold hand and looking at her pale face. She was unmistakably losing strength, her breath becoming more and more rapid, shivering and murmuring through her half-consciousness.

"Heero…" she whispered meekly. Her eyelids fluttered as though she were having a bad dream.

"Ssshh…" Noin soothed, lifting her free and running it through Relena's now loose hair, brushing stray strands of hair out of face. "Just hold on, Relena. You'll make it; be strong."

Even as she said those words, she doubted whether there was any truth to them. They sounded, somehow, very fake and hollow. She contemplated on how she was going to tell Milliardo what had happened. Thank goodness he had to leave on urgent business right before the incident. He would definitely be very concerned with Relena's injury and would most likely want revenge. Which would be disastrous. Milliardo wasn't known to be a patient person.

_Maybe if he's too wound up in self-pity…_ That was Noin's first thought, but she knew it wouldn't work. Milliardo wasn't one to sit around and feel sorry for himself. The wars had made him very strong, and he would rather do something about a situation than sit and wait. He would unquestionably seek vengeance. 

Relena slowly opened her eyes, but her vision was blurred and she could only make out a shadowed figure beside her. She recognized Noin, and smiled gently before closing her eyes again. Noin hadn't seen that she had woken up; she was too deep in thought to notice. Blackness overwhelmed her once again, pulling her into the horrific realm of nightmares.

********************

_Think fast, Blade. They're here,_ a little voice in her head told her. She mentally cursed at herself for being so stupid as to wait around, but those eyes had somehow drawn her in. She turned to face the other three pilots, and noted with satisfaction that they were very shaken. Heero Yuy just looked plain furious! She never thought she'd be able to irritate the 'Perfect Soldier.' Even a day of Duo's blabbing didn't faze him.

_So now I know your weakness._

The pilots didn't move, and neither did she. Feeling quite comfortable, even under Heero's glare, she relaxed a bit. She'd get out of this, no problem. She still had her secret weapon, after all. After a long silence, the ever-polite Quatre stepped forward a bit and tried to interrogate her.

"Why do you want to kill Vice Foreign Minister Darlian?" he asked, in a harsh tone that didn't complement his gentle eyes. She smirked a bit. Like she was going to tell him… even though he was kinda cute…

"I don't believe that's any of your business," she replied evenly, her arms at her sides but prepared to defend against an attack. She saw that Heero's hands were in fists at his side, and he was glaring daggers at her.

_If looks could kill…_ she laughed mentally. 

Duo, for once, was very silent. He just looked very bewildered, but he seemed ready to fight when the time came. Heero had seemed to of had enough. In a quick movement, he had pushed Duo and Quatre, and was face-to-face with her. Her sunglasses predicting that he was going to throw a right hook, she dodged backwards just in time to save herself. His failed attempt at harming her seemed to infuriate him even more, and he was wildly throwing punches at her minutes later. His punches were hard and would be very accurate had her senses not been sharper and she could anticipate his movements. The fact that she knew his technique because she had been trained with the exact same ones also helped her greatly, along with the Zero system sunglasses. The other pilots seemed to regain themselves and soon Duo had rushed in to help Heero, throwing punches, kicks, and other whatnots at her. She found it harder to dodge both of them at the same time, but still held out until Quatre joined in. She was quite surprised at him; Quatre wasn't known to like violence. It just showed her how much value he put in Vice Foreign Minister Darlian and their friendship.

She fought hard, throwing punches of her own while blocking the ones that were about to inflict damage on her. She took a hard blow from Heero, and she suspected that he had broken her ribs. She got another punch, this time right at her face, which sent her sunglasses flying off. She staggered back, already feeling a bruise forming, and tasting coppery blood in her mouth. Her sight became blurry, and right then she felt someone elbow her in the back. The blow carried such force that she fell forwards. She tried to use her wrists to support herself, but she heard a crack and that probably meant that she had broken one of them. The throbbing pain coming from her left arm told her which wrist was broken. Using her right hand, she shakily tried to support herself up. The beating had stopped for a while, and finally able to gain some breathing space, she jumped back as far as she could from her opponents, causing her to wince in pain. Breathing heavily, she stood up straight and eyed the boys viciously. Her head felt like it was going to explode. 

_Where the hell are those girls?!?_

She was very furious that none of her teammates had shown up. She wasn't even supposed to encounter the pilots!

_Well, it's come down to this,_ she thought. _I'm on my last resort right now._

Flipping over the gold bracelet on her limp left wrist, she entered a code into the number grid. A loud explosion could be heard, followed by more explosions and huge clouds of dust and debris. The explosions caught the pilots' attentions, and they all turned to the source of the sound, as smoke and dust engulfed them. Taking the chance she had, Blade turned toward the railing to take her leave in the cloud of dust, but someone grabbed her arm and stopped her. Whirling around, she confronted Trowa, whom she entirely forgot was there during the entire time she was trying to defend herself. He looked at her as he did before, but this time she shook it off and tried to pry her arm free. To her surprise, his grip was very firm, and he wouldn't let go. She struggled against his strength, and used her free hand to direct a punch at his face. His other hand caught hers just in time, and she ended up worse off than before. He twisted both her arms behind he back, and held her wrists together tightly. It took every ounce of strength she had not to cry out in pain, but she was too proud to admit he had beaten her. She continued to struggle defiantly, trying to catch him in the groin with her leg. He knew her motives, however, and pinned her back to him so that she couldn't move.

"I'd suggest that you stop struggling, otherwise I might have to resort to extreme measures," he said unperturbedly into her ear. His tone made her even more contempt with him, and she thrashed about more wildly than before.

"You cannot beat me," he said in his monotone again. "At least not in this condition."

She knew he was right, but being the stubborn, prideful person that she was, she didn't relent. 

"Let go of me," she hissed through gritted teeth.

"I'm afraid I can't do that," he replied. "This is the last warning I'm going to give you. Either stop resisting, or I will have no other choice."

"Or what?" she scoffed, suddenly getting cocky. "You'll kill me? I don't really care," she ended haughtily. 

"That wasn't quite what I had in mind," Trowa said lightly, and moments later, she felt a small prick on her left arm. The world swam before her eyes, and soon colours were all mixing together. Her knees buckled under her, but she felt a pair of strong arms support her up. Her eyelids felt very heavy and before long she had given in to the temptation of sleep…

*******************

As the cloud of smoke cleared, Heero unshielded his eyes and saw that Trowa was holding the unconscious assassin in his arms. How he had managed to sustain her, he didn't know. Even he had difficulty fighting against her; she had been trained very well. He walked over to Trowa, inspecting the limp body.

"What did you do to her?" he asked in his low voice.

"I sedated her," Trowa answered simply, eyeing Heero's still-bleeding nose. "You're still bleeding," he stated. "As soon as we hand her over to the police, we can get you some medical attention."

"No," Heero rejected firmly. "I'm fine. We are definitely not handing her over to the police. I'm going to interrogate her myself," he said, voice full of venom and eyes narrowed.

*******************

_Author's Notes:_ Ta-da! New chapter!!! Now I'll have you people to blame if I fail my geography test. I'm actually supposed to be studying! 

Anyways, I hope this chapter wasn't too disappointing. I know it's short, and it took me a long time to post it, but it surprised me how busy you can get in life. Thank you to those who reviewed the last chapter: Arion (why'd you change your name?), Kywraith Amnesi (please get the next chapter out soon!), Meghanna Starsong (I still haven't gotten my muse back…), and Myst-Lady (glad you like the story, even though you don't like GW.) Sooo, what do you think's gonna happen??? I think I've finally decided who I'm going to pair Blade with, but I'm still open to suggestions!!! THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO HAS REVIEWED!!! And future reviewers as well…

Anyways, I think that's all. I PROMISE to try and get the next chapter out soon.

Ciao for now!

~Seeress 


	8. Recognition--Finally!

Shadow of the Revolution

ALL STANDARD DISCLAIMERS APPLY.

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Shadow of the Revolution

Chapter 8

Mariemaia walked around inspecting the new 'presents' she had to give out. They were magnificent; their looming height and invincibility fascinated her. Indeed, the paradise she had been promised far exceeded her expectations. It was truly a soldier's enchantment, a haven where all genuine soldiers came in the unliveable times of peace. She had learned of Operation Revolution, and a little more about the organization behind the manoeuvre. She loved the role she had to play; now she could finally pay back those pilots for destroying her dream of world domination. A question still tugged at her conscience, the question of whether she was doing the right thing or not, but she took no notice of that. She was going to get revenge, and it was going to be sweet.

"Miss Mariemaia, your shuttle is ready to leave," a soldier said from behind her. 

Taking a last glance back at the beautiful titans, she turned around and answered, "Then let's be off, shall we? We certainly don't want to be late."

*******************

Blade woke up sore all over. She was in some sort of large metal room, as far as she could tell, which she deduced to be an interrogation room as soon as she saw the two-way mirror. She was sitting right in the middle of the room, restrained to a chair by metal bindings. She shook her head to clear her vision, but that only made the throbbing in her head worse. Blinking a few times, her eyes focused clearly on her surroundings. Her wrists and ankles were bound to the chair she was sitting in, and the bindings had torn into her flesh so that she was bleeding. Her ribs were killing her, as she was sitting hunched over and putting more pressure on them. She could hardly move, but managed to run her leathery tongue over her parched lips. She was so thirsty and tired, and she needed to find a way to escape. She lifted her head to look around, and a straight lock of raven hair fell on her face. 

_And they said the curls would last 20 hours…_ she thought sarcastically. But it could've been twenty hours for all she knew, for there were no windows in the room, no sunlight pouring in. The only light in the room was from a small light bulb dangling idly above her and the light that leaked in through the cracks of the latched metal door. That hardly compensated to the large open area and raised ceiling, and it was somewhat dark. Even in the dimness of the room, she noticed the glint of light on glass, and two red dots high up in opposite corners of the room.

_They're watching me,_ she thought, recognizing the cameras. _That might make things tricky._

She couldn't pick her way out of this one, because she was being monitored, so she'd have to wait until they grew less wary of her and stopped watching. But even then her chances of escape were slim. She had no clue where she was, or even how to get out of the place. Sighing resolutely, she allowed her eyelids to droop, but her mind was still focused on escape.

From behind the dark glass, all four boys watched her regain consciousness. They monitored her movements carefully, not knowing what their prisoner might do when she awoke. 

"Hmm, not bad," Duo said, glancing at his watch. "She was supposed to be asleep for another 12 hours. Considering her condition, that's not bad at all."

"11 hours, 58 minutes, and 23 seconds," Heero said, not taking his eyes off the girl. Duo could only turn to Quatre and shrug in exasperation, and was rewarded with a warm smile. 

"Do you think she'll try to escape?" Quatre asked no one in particular. 

"It's not a matter of **_if_** she'll try to escape. It's a matter of **_when_** she'll try to escape," Trowa answered the question, but his gaze was also fixed on the mysterious assailant.

"She won't be doing anything soon," Heero's monotone broke in. "She'll wait until she's recovered at least a bit, or when the opportunity arises."

Silence filled the observation room afterward. The only sound that could be heard was Duo shifting his weight occasionally. Uncomfortable with such a strained quietness, Duo broke the tension with the first thing that came to mind.

"Well, aren't we gonna question her or anything? 'Cause if not, I'd like to get a few winks in before dawn." As if to prove his point, he stretched his arms over his head and let out a huge yawn. Sending his braid flying in a frenzy, Duo shook his head vigorously to keep his eyes open.

"Why don't you go talk to her, Kats?" he said while trying to stifle another yawn. 

"Me?" Quatre asked. "But…" he looked over to Heero for permission, and saw the stoic soldier nod his head. Sighing, he turned and hesitantly walked toward the door behind them. As he was about to turn the knob, Heero's voice called out to him.

"Quatre?"

"Yes, Heero?" he half-turned to face him.

"Watch yourself."

"I will," he said, nearly smiling.

*******************

The door of the room creaked as Quatre opened it. He closed the door behind him, and tucked the key safely into the pocket of his black pants. He was a little cautious at approaching what looked like a rag doll strapped to a chair. He knew that this girl was dangerous, and he had to advance in the utmost caution.

The creaking of a door had awoken Blade. Willing herself to open her eyes, she caught a glimpse of a petite blond moving toward her. 

_Quatre,_ she acknowledged.

He almost seemed afraid of her, and if she had the strength, she might've laughed. No doubt he had come to question her, although he didn't look too confident of himself. She tried to sit up straight, but it caused her more pain and in the end she decided to just sit as she was, with her head tilted forward so that her chin was resting between her collarbones. She closed her eyes, but she could sense that she was being watched.

"Who are you?" Quatre got straight to the point. He was tired, angry, confused, and sad all at the same time, and he needed some answers.

"You already know that," she croaked out tiredly. Quatre stiffened; that voice was familiar, very familiar indeed.

"Stop playing games," he said, a little irritated that he wasn't getting a straight answer. The girl refused to answer, and Quatre got a little more irritated. He usually would've been calm and composed, but the events of the night had left him a little shaken.

"Who are you working for?" he tried another question. Still, he got no reply. Getting more agitated by the moment, he moved closer toward her.

She sensed his movement, sensed his closeness to her, his fragrance invading her senses. Involuntarily, her eyes snapped open, and she was staring long and hard into Quatre's blue eyes.

_Such beautiful hazel eyes,_ Quatre thought. And then it struck him. _Beautiful hazel eyes…_

A look of horror crossed his face as he recognized the unknown assailant. 

_Of course! The hazel eyes, the raven hair, that voice… how could I not have noticed it before?_

Shaking his head in disbelief, Quatre started to back away toward the door.

_But how can it be **her?**_

"It… it… can't be…" he stuttered. "You would… **she** would never do that…" Tears stung his eyes and blurred his vision. "How could you?" 

She didn't bother to answer his question, for she knew he wasn't expecting her to answer. He would never understand her, because Quatre was just too innocent. 

Without waiting for a reply, his hand found the doorknob and he bolted out of there as quickly as he could.

*******************

"What's wrong with Quatre?" Duo scratched his head in confusion. Sure, he hadn't really been paying that much attention to what he was doing, but it was so unlike Quatre to just suddenly bolt out of a room. Not receiving a reply from the two impassive boys, he heaved a sigh and headed out.

"I'll go check up on him," he said on his way out, although he didn't really see the point of saying anything at all.

******************

Quatre was in his room, sitting in the window seat and staring out at the ocean. He really did have a knack for choosing mansions with the most beautiful views. Duo hadn't bothered to knock, and was now standing right behind Quatre, looking out at the ocean to see if he could find what Quatre's hidden eye found so intriguing. He placed a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder, but didn't bother to say anything. Quatre would tell him what was wrong when he was ready, and he didn't want to pry. Duo had already turned to leave when Quatre spoke up, voice full of misery.

"It was her," he said quietly. "I can't believe it was her."

"It was who, Quatre? What are you talking about?"

Quatre turned to face him, and Duo saw the unshed tears in his eyes. Quatre whispered something inaudibly, and Duo strained to hear.

"Sonya…" was the only word Duo could hear properly.

_Sonya…_ he tried to remember. _Wait, wasn't that…_

"The girl you were talking about at dinner?"

Sadly, Quatre nodded affirmatively. More tears welled up inside his eyes.

"Oh, Quatre," Duo heaved a sigh. He put a comforting arm around his friend's shoulder, and then pulled him into a reassuring hug. He let go, and then kneeled in front of Quatre so that their eyes were at the same level.

"Are you going to be alright?" he asked with concern.

"Yeah, I think so," Quatre managed a half-smile. "Thanks a lot, Duo," he said sincerely. Duo took this as his cue to leave.

"Well, just holler if you need me. I'm here for ya," he had to stifle yet another yawn. "Well, I'm gonna get some shut-eye. You should too, Quatre."

"I know, Duo. Thanks again."

"No prob," Duo was standing at the door. "Night, Kats."

"Goodnight."

*******************

_Author's Notes:_ No, that was not meant to be yaoi. It was just a show of **friendship.** I am getting way off track; this chapter was totally horrible! I really do apologize… I have been very tired lately and my creativity has disappeared. I'm so very sorry if this was as disappointing to you as it is to me, but I thank those of you who continue to read. Thank yous also go out to Arion, Wufei's Gurl (I'll save Wufei, don't worry), Kywraith Amnesi, Ley, Meghanna Starsong, and GW Dark Chyld for reviewing the last chapter. I thank everyone who has reviewed; it means a lot to me. The support is really appreciated since life is taking me on a bumpy ride right now. 

Thank you all so much.

~Seeress


	9. Identification

Shadow of the Revolution

_Disclaimer:_ Sadly, I don't own Gundam Wing or any other anime… ::sigh::

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Shadow of the Revolution

Chapter 9

Duo awoke to the still darkness of the early morning. Groaning, he tried to close his eyes and go back to sleep. Being unsuccessful, he warily opened his eyes and lifted his left wrist to take a glance at his watch. It read 5:32. Mumbling to himself that even Heero wasn't up at the ungodly hour and cursing his luck for not being able to sleep longer, Duo stumbled out of bed in a mass of unbound chestnut hair. Tripping over a few misplaced things on the floor, he managed to make it to the bathroom without any major injuries. Flicking on the light, he looked at the pale reflection in the golden-framed mirror. When he had run a comb through his hair a couple times so that it was not too tangled, Duo set about braiding it. After he was done, he washed his face with icy cold water to wake himself up. Duo dried off and headed down to the kitchen to grab something to drink. After taking 10 minutes to decide he wanted ginger ale and not coffee, Duo wandered the extravagant mansion in search of something to occupy his time until someone besides Heero woke up.

Passing by the door of the interrogation room, a thought struck Duo that he'd had the night before. Since they now knew, well, he and Quatre, knew the identity of their 'prisoner', they could do a background check on her. It was standard procedure in any capture, and Duo had nothing better to do with his time, plus he wanted to show Heero and Wufei that he wasn't just a goofball and that he could beat them to something. Walking lazily back to his room, Duo turned on his laptop and began the search.

"Now let's see," he said softly to himself. "Hmm… what was the chick's last name? Sonya… Dasher? No. It did start with a 'd' though. Umm… oh, I got it! Dracy. Yeah, that's it. Dracy."

Keying in the search name, he tapped impatiently on the desk while he waited. 

**_Search in progress,_** the computerized voice said to him. **_Checking identity—match confirmed. Bringing up file of Sonya Dracy. _**

"Bingo," Duo smiled happily, but his face was quickly replaced with one of extreme mortification when the file showed up on-screen and he got a look at Sonya Dracy's photograph.

"HOLY MOLY RAVIOLI!!!"

*******************

Loud, incessant beeping broke into the nightmares of Heero Yuy. Both his Prussian blue eyes shot open, wide and alert as if ready for an enemy attack. Realizing it had only been his alarm clock, he reached over with one arm and turned it off. He ran a hand through his unruly brown hair before sitting up in bed. Glancing out the window, he caught a glimpse of the rising sun hiding behind the mountains, making its way out over the horizon. It's red tinge reflected off the tranquil blue of the ocean, staining the water a blood-curdling red. He shivered at the memory of his nightmare; it was as if nature was mocking him by using the very thing that had calmed him the night before to unnerve him. Disregarding how horrible he felt, he quietly got out of bed and walked over to his bathroom. 

He brushed his teeth absentmindedly, thoughts wandering back to the nightmare he'd had. Once he was done, he slipped into the shower and let the warm water pound on his bare skin. It was soothing, and somehow it relaxed him and made him forget his troubles. After 15 minutes, Heero stepped out of the bathroom fully dressed in a navy blue turtleneck and black pants. He grabbed a small towel and proceeded to dry his wet brown hair while his other hand flipped open his laptop.

After passing all the security and firewalls he had put up, Heero brought forth a list of all the best hospitals in the area. 

"Hn. This is the one: St. Joseph Memorial Hospital. That's not too far from here."

His hands continued to work diligently until he was satisfied with the information he had.

"Room 507, ICU. Severe blood loss, fractured collarbone, and dislocated shoulder. Currently in coma. Life support utilized. Surgery not confirmed?"

_Makes sense,_ Heero thought. _If they were to go ahead with the surgery and she woke up the middle of it, it'd cause her a lot of pain. But they can't give her any sedatives right now because of her coma. That could worsen the situation entirely. Still, _he thought with a bit of remorse, _if they don't do anything soon, she won't make it._

He pushed his chair back, stretching his arms over his head, and then went back to remove any traces of his hack into the Medical Database. He pushed the lid of his laptop down, and was halfway out the door when a familiar voice and an accompanying rhythmic click called him back.

"Hello Heero…"

*******************

Duo blinked rapidly to test his eyesight. Was he just delusional? Or was he really seeing this? The woman looked just like Blade! Maybe a bit older… but it was like they were identical twins! He decided to run another search. 

**_Search in progress. _**He was once again told. **_Checking identity… match confirmed. Bringing up file of Blade Violet._**

The profile was brought up on-screen and a picture of an almost identical raven-haired, hazel-eyed beauty as the one before appeared. Duo put the pictures side-by-side, and was more than astonished by the resemblance. 

"Blade never said she had a twin sister… but then why do they look so alike?" 

Deep in his mind, a little voice spoke to him. _You already know the answer to that. You've known it all along._

"What are you saying?" Duo said aloud, and knew it must look strange to anyone who might be watching.

Ever since you first saw her, you felt that something wasn't right. You were even surer after you got to talk to her a bit. Aren't I right, Duo?

Duo only growled in frustration. _Damn these voices in my head, _he cursed.

But you know I'm right. You just wanted to ignore your gut instincts and deny the truth because she reminds you of Hilde.

That hit a nerve. He hadn't mentioned Hilde ever since their nasty break-up. It was like a trip to Hell and back when he had to spend an entire evening with her at the party. He didn't know what happened between them; things just turned sour all of a sudden. He was brought back to the present when his laptop indicated a security breach. Closing the files, he searched for the exact location of the intruder.

"He's in the shuttle hangar…"

*******************

A piercing throbbing in his head caused Wufei to wake. In his state of physical and mental inertness, he could only make out two distant lights in front of him, and a few figures eyeing him from within the shadows. He fought to stay awake longer, but knew that it was one battle he wouldn't win. His breathing was ragged, choking gasps rather than even inhaling and exhaling. The lack of oxygen made him woozy, slurring his eyesight and making him feel so very tired. 

He was bound in handcuffs, that much he knew. The feeling of the metal rubbing and tearing into his skin was a sensation he wouldn't soon forget. He couldn't make out his surroundings, or know how badly injured he was. But by the dull aches and pains all over his body, he could tell he would need plenty of time to fully recover. 

Deciding he would solve other problems later, Wufei allowed his eyelids to droop and slumber to sink in. But before he was completely asleep, in that state of mind before sleep but after consciousness, he thought he heard a voice talking to him. A very familiar voice…

"We meet again, my Solitary Dragon…"

*******************

Heero begrudgingly turned the alarm off. He had completely forgotten about the security system in his preoccupied thoughts. He just didn't understand it. Why would Doctor J call now? Despite the good Doctor's claim he was just checking up on him, Heero knew that something was going on. When the Doctor was involved, something was always going on. J didn't do things for the simple purpose of pleasantry. He knew something, and Heero was sure as hell going to find out what it was.

"Hey Heero!" a cheerful voice called from behind him. 

_He must've heard the alarm breach, _he thought. _But Duo's **never** up this early…_

"Where ya goin', buddy?" he asked.

"Hn," was the stoic reply. "It's none of your business. I'll be back soon; I just have a few things to take care of," and with that, he jumped into the shuttle and started the engines. Duo's protests were drowned out by the sound of the shuttle taking off, as Heero made his way to pay a visit to a sick patient. 

*******************

_Author's Notes:_ I'm surprised that I haven't had death threats yet. *Sigh* I'm so very, very, very, very, very, very, very sorry that it took me so long to get this chapter up. I beg for your forgiveness!!! Don't give up on me just yet!

With the part about the surgery… I don't pretend to be a medical expert. That's just something that I thought up and if it is medically incorrect, then I apologize, but do give me some credit! (Even if it was a lame attempt…)

Thank you so **very** much (is it just me, or have I said very a lot today?) to Arion, Ley, Kywraith Amnesi, Blazing-Moon, and Meghanna Starsong. You guys (well, gals) are da best! You've given me encouragement to write this completely worthless fic. Thank you!

Well, do any of you have guesses as to what will happen next? I'd like to hear what you think. And Arion, who's to say whether or not I'll pair her with Quatre? I'm not saying I will, but I'm not saying I won't. As always, comments, criticism, etc. are welcome and appreciated! 

Next chapter: Heero pays a visit to an injured friend; Wufei discovers his captor's identity; Quatre and Trowa play music together, and Duo is just trying to find something to occupy his time. All this and more in the next chapter. Stay tuned! 

Adios amigos!

~Seeress 


	10. So Now You know

Shadow of the Revolution

_Disclaimer:_ They're not mine; I don't own them. Enough said.

*******************

Shadow of the Revolution

Chapter 10

Duo shielded his face as the shuttle's thrusters ignited and launched the shuttle, causing a mini tornado inside the hanger. When he was able to look up again as the wind cleared, all he could see of the shuttle were the thrusters as a small circle of light far off into the horizon. Begrudgingly, he mumbled something about Heero's rudeness and his need to learn etiquette, then walked slowly back to his room to download the data he had just acquired. 

His underwater screensaver was swarming with brightly coloured tropical fish and occasionally a great white shark would come by to scatter them all. Duo watched for a moment as a cloud of bubbles lazily drifted up and away out of view. A little tap on the sensor grid and the fish vanished, bringing back his regular desktop with the wallpaper of outer space. He stared, dumfounded, at the screen before blinking rapidly a few times. Nothing. There was nothing there. No files; no search results. Nothing. Sitting abruptly down on his chair, he tried to retrieve the data which he had been looking at previously. Frustrated was he when he couldn't even get a **trace** of what he was looking for. In fact, there wasn't any evidence that he had even done a search through the civilian profiles. He knew that he hadn't covered his tracks yet, distracted by the possibility of a security breach. Whoever had deleted the information though, they'd done a damn good job. Duo couldn't find even the tiniest bit to go on. He tried running another search for the two people—or was it one person?—that he had been studying. Still, nothing came up. He cursed himself for not having the forethought to download the information before he took off to inspect the security breach. How could he have made such a critical mistake?

"This is just not my day," Duo grumbled, heaving a sigh.

*******************

Quatre took out his frustration from the previous days on his expensive antique piano, pushing his music books away and banging on the keys. He had woken up a little while back by the sound of ignited shuttle engines, no doubt Heero taking off to do whatever it was he was going to do. He had thought that some soft classical compositions would help to calm him down, but clearly he was wrong. Damn it all to hell.

"You can't blame yourself for things that are beyond your control," a soft but firm voice said behind him. Quiet footsteps walked across the richly carpeted floor to stand close behind him. Quatre felt the waves of emotions radiating off his silent friend. "If you're blaming yourself, then we're all to blame. Especially me."

"How can it be your fault, Trowa?" he asked somewhat bitterly, even though he already knew.

"The same way that it can be yours," came the smooth reply, so calm and collected. "I—felt someone there. My instincts told me something was going on. But I chose to ignore it because I didn't want to ruin the party with my doubts." He scoffed, and a sardonic smirk played across his lips, although the other boy could not see. "So much for ruining the party." 

The warm presence behind him moved away, and Quatre could tell where Trowa was headed without even turning around to look. The soft click of a cabinet being opened and another soft click when the cabinet door was closed confirmed everything.

"What do you say we try to lighten things up a bit?" There was no time to reply as the melodious notes of a flute floated to Quatre's ears. A small smile graced his lips before he joined his companion in playing the beautiful song. The sound of music filled the quiet room.

*******************

He had found the large single white room easily, and snuck in inconspicuously without being noticed. Checking the clipboard at the end of her bed, he found that she had just had major surgery in which she received 53 stitches to close the shot wound. Whoever these people were, they were dangerous. They possessed weapons that could cause mass destruction, and they dared to hurt one of the people he cared deeply about. Forget the damned weapons; he was going to kill them with his bare hands.

He walked slowly toward the miniscule hospital bed, slightly disturbed by how many tubes and wires were attached to her frail form. She was breathing from a machine, and he watched as her chest rose and fell with each shallow breath. Her golden hair was fanned out on the white pillow, her fluttering eyelids closed over her beautiful cerulean blue eyes. Her skin was pale, far too pale, but covered in sweat as she moaned softly in her sleep, troubled with unpleasant dreams in her fever. The ECG monitor[1] keeping track of her heart rate was beeping softly, and a slight breeze blew through the half-open window. He watched in fascination as the lights played across her skin, making her seem surreal.

"Relena," he whispered softly to her, even though he knew she could not hear. According to the clipboard, she would regain consciousness in 2 weeks at the earliest—**if** she regained consciousness at all. He reached out a hand and stroked her cheek, running it down and through her hair. She moaned again, twisting to try to escape the monsters in her head. He knew he didn't have much time; someone would come to check up on her soon.

"Hang on, Relena. Don't give up. I'll make them pay for what they did to you. I swear it." Footsteps were coming down the hall, and after he gave her a quick kiss on the forehead, Heero swept out without a trace. On her bed, Relena stirred once more, the traces of a smile appearing on her face. With a contented sigh, she fell into a blissfully nightmare-free sleep.

*******************

Lucrezia Noin was **not** in a good mood. Since Lady Une's death she had been placed head of the Preventers, and that meant much more work than she ever thought possible. The president was breathing down her neck, top executives of the ESUN were making a big fuss over the incident, the media was hounding her for information, and the public was in a state of turmoil. She wondered how Lady Une had ever managed to do the job while keeping her sanity. She was starting to respect the woman more and more with each passing day. Noin had sent in a formal letter to headquarters requesting that another person be hired for the job since she'd much rather do field work, but until someone else was found to take the position, she was stuck with the job from hell.

Sighing profoundly, she went over the conversation she just had with Sally in her head. Relena had just come out of surgery, but she was still in critical condition. The doctors didn't know when she would wake up, or even if she would wake up at all. It was still too early to tell, and it was a very fine balance between life and death. And now, on top of everything else, she had just been informed that Mariemaia was missing. Could life get any worse?

As she walked hurriedly down the long corridor, she doubled back to look into a half open door where a tall figure stood, walking back and forth distractedly. 

_It **is** him._

Zechs was pacing nervously, his thoughts resting with his injured sister lying unconscious in a hospital. All intelligent thought had left him since he had seen what had happened to his sister hours before. So distracted was he that he didn't hear the soft footfalls entering the room, and jumped when he felt a small hand reassuringly placed on his shoulder.

Whipping around by instinct, he came face to face with none other than his old friend and companion.

"Noin," he said, and he seemed to relax a bit. "You startled me."

She merely smiled at him wearily and patted his arm.

"Don't worry so much. Relena will make it through. She's strong; believe in her." And with those words said, she turned around to leave.

Zechs watched her turn away. Something about her was very different. In the old days, when bad situations arose, it was always him trying to comfort her and not the other way around. She had grown, become stronger, much stronger than he was. He hadn't noticed it at all, and he found himself now left behind in his weaknesses. He suddenly realized that all these years, Noin had never needed to be near him because she needed his strength, or his support. No, she had never needed him at all. She saw him, vulnerable, saw all his weaknesses and flaws, and she had stayed so that **he** had someone to lean on when the going got tough. She had stuck by his side, believed in him, loved him, through all the terrible things he had done. And he had never realized before how lucky he was to have her with him.

"Noin," he said, grabbing her wrist to keep her from leaving. She turned back to face him, her beautiful dark eyes wide, searching his face. He thought she looked very defenceless then, just her plain self instead of the masked Noin that he was used to seeing. In his mind, he went over what he could say to her. She stood there, waiting, seeming anxious and scared at the same time. He wanted to just take her in his arms and kiss her breathless, but he knew that it wasn't the time or the place. Gathering his wits, he broke the silence that neither one knew was hanging around them.

"Thank you for standing by my side."

She smiled again, her love for him reflecting in those bright eyes. "I'll always be here, Zechs."

And, prying her hand from his, she walked out the door and closed it behind her.

*******************

He heard the rattling at the door, and the click of the lock of which he seldom heard. He opened his eyes groggily, squinting at the rectangle of light coming through the open door. He heard the guards salute the man, and a small figure beside him. Most of his cuts and scrapes had scabs over them, and were healing nicely although not as quickly as he would like. The day before he had been sent to the infirmary of the place to get his broken bones back into place. He had been led down a dimly lit, low ceiling corridor, and through a maze of twists and turns that he was sure they were leading him through so that he could not remember his way out. Unfortunately he had no landmarks that he could base his route on. All the walls were plain and simply white, barren, empty, and it annoyed him to know that their stupid little plan had worked.

The man walked serenely through the door, trailed by the other small silhouette. There was something very familiar about the way this man held himself: the way he walked, his movements, his actions. Like bits and pieces of a half remembered dream. As he walked closer, the light shone exposed more parts of his body so that he wasn't completely bathed in darkness. 

_Come on,_ Wufei thought. _Just a little closer…_

As if heeding his wish, the man kept walking forward.

_I like knowing my enemies._

*******************

"What do you know?" his voice was stoic, impassive, as always.

The old Doctor chuckled at his young protégé. He had never once seen him so agitated before.

_He must really love her,_ he thought, amused.

"Now, Heero, what is it you think I know?"

"Don't play games, Dr. J. You wouldn't have contacted me before if you didn't know something."

Again, the Doctor chuckled. "You know me well, Heero."

Heero only grunted in reply. "Don't waste my time. If you want to tell me something, just say it." The smile was wiped off the Doctor's face, and he became deadly serious.

"X18999 wasn't Dekim Barton's idea."

Heero's eyes flashed fury. "What are you saying?"

"Come now, Heero. Did you really think that fool could have ever come up with something of the sort? And did you really think that we built the Gundams to serve his purpose?"

"What are you getting at?" he snarled angrily.

"The world has been putting on a play, Heero. It's been going on for quite some time now. Oblivious spectators have lined up by the millions to see this master performance. You've got one of the lead roles."

His eyes widened. "Operation Meteor."

"Heero Yuy's death was when the curtain rose. That's when a mastermind scripture was written, crafted by the hands of a youth who wanted to cleanse humanity. The designers were gathered, the actors were picked, and on his signal this endless waltz of war began."

Heero glared death at his former mentor, not believing what he was hearing. 

"You see, Heero, no matter how brilliantly the actors perform, there will always be a director calling the shots. He'll always be there, behind the scenes, pulling the strings to his liking…"

*******************

He could almost make out his face now. The light vaguely traced an outline: an aristocratic nose, thin lips, full oval face. It was infuriating, this game of guessing identities, and Wufei was sick of it. Sensing his obvious frustration, the man let out a pure, rich laugh that resonated off the walls. Chills crept up Wufei's spine; why did that laugh sound so familiar?

The man walked another metre more, standing directly in front of Wufei and bathed completely in light. 

Wufei's eyes widened in shock, not registering that the figure before him was not an illusion. He gaped at him, then closed his eyes and opened them again to make sure that he was real and not a trick of the light. But his surprise was short lived, for it was soon replaced with fury. His onyx eyes narrowed in slits, and he growled his repulse.

*******************

"… And we've been acting out his script, right from the very beginning."

"Who are you talking about?" Heero snapped.

*******************

Then suddenly, Wufei threw his head back and let out a maniacal empty laugh, his eyes still full of fury. Afterward, he stared straight at his archenemy, portraying his hatred.

*******************

"Treize."

*******************

[1] ECG Monitor— electro cardiogram. It's what they use to keep track of heartbeats.

_Author's Notes:_ Phew! Another chapter done. I know it's way overdue, but better late than never, right? You'll have to excuse the tardiness. But I wrote an extra long chapter to make up for it! *smiles innocently* Anyways, thank you to Arion and Kywraith Amnesi for reviewing the last chapter. It's a miracle you guys have stuck through for this long. Arion and I started our stories at about the same time, and hers is nicely done with 23 awesome chapters while mine is still stuck on its tenth. Lol. Kywraith, update, update, update!!! You're as bad as me!

So, now my mystery bad guy's identity is out. It's lame, I know, but it'll get better; I promise! Anyways, if anybody is reading this and is bored of having to check back to see when I've updated, you can tell me to put you on the mailing list and I'll e-mail you when I've posted a new chapter. And please, if you are reading, be kind enough to leave a review. It keeps me going and next time I can thank you by name.

That's it for now. Until next time.

~Seeress


	11. Thoughts of Escape

Shadow of the Revolution

_Standard disclaimer applies._

© Seeress, 2002

*******************

**The story thus far:**  

Heero has visited Relena in the hospital after her surgery, and had a chat with Dr. J. Trowa comforted Quatre by playing music with him, while Noin and Zechs gave each other support. Blade is still the prisoner of the Gundam pilots, and Wufei discovered his captor's identity.  

Shadow of the Revolution

Chapter 11

She struggled against the restraints binding her wrists and ankles. Apparently the ex-pilots had been very thorough in their search and almost everything that she had on her in case of capture to help herself out was taken: the knife in her boot, the bendable wire in her necklace, her gloves (containing an extra comm. device), and even the lock pick in her hair. She smiled a wiry smile at how hopeless the situation looked. She knew though, if worst came to worst, that her comrades would be sent to free her. Not that she wanted that to happen; the bitch Dorothy would never let her live it down.

She ceased her struggling, knowing that she was inflicting more harm upon herself by doing so. Her injuries had not completely healed, in fact the cuts and scrapes had only formed scabs, her ribs were still broken, and her wrist throbbed like hell. Leaning back, she closed her eyes and sighed. Shifting her shoulders and chest a bit, she stopped when she felt the familiar feel of metal poking the soft skin on her chest.

_Well,_ she thought to herself, _no matter how **thorough** that search was, they were still gentlemanly about it. Otherwise this wouldn't still be here._ Then she looked up to the cameras, and was pleasantly surprised to see that there was no longer a red dot indicating she was being watched. She looked toward the two-way glass that was elevated off the floor to see if anyone was watching, but she couldn't tell. _Guess this is as good a chance as I'm going to get with this one. It's now or never. _

She bent her head down, biting at the cloth of her bra to get the lock pick free from the loose stitches. After achieving that, with the lock pick securely between her teeth, she used her teeth to undo the restraints that had been binding her for at least 24 hours. She had lost all sense of time, since no sunlight filtered into the room, but determined the time by her sleeping habits.It took her a while to get the lock open; apparently the ex-pilots had decided to choose very good locks as well. But after her right wrist was free, the remaining three were easy pickings. 

At her first attempt to stand, she had simply fallen over and had to grab the metal chair she so detested to keep from falling flat on her face on the cold floor. But her second attempt was more precise and careful, and she was able to stand after she had allowed her legs enough time to adjust. Letting go of the chair, she stumbled somewhat ungracefully toward the rectangular iron door, and her hand fumbled for the doorknob. With dismay, she realized that it was locked from outside. She let out a half-sigh, and chastised herself for her disappointment. Leaning her back gently against the wall as to not hurt her sore ribs, she tried to search for another alternative.

_*FLASHBACK*_

_"Haven't I taught you anything?"_

_"How **dare** you talk to me like that!"_

_"There are no disappointments in war when there are no emotions. Emotions are for the weak."_

_"Don't you know better that to cry?"_

_"You stupid, stupid girl. You're useless! USELESS!"_

_The sound of a whip would be heard punishing the stinging skin of the small child. Then, in the dark, a sobbing heap would curl in the corner and mutter two words over and over._

_"I'm sorry…I'm sorry…"_

_*END FLASHBACK*_

She judged that she had two options: 1) since the door could not be opened, she could get back in the chair and wait until someone came in. Then, with the bindings undone, she could easily dispose of the person and quietly make her way out. Or 2) she could grab that dangling light bulb, swing from it and break the two-way glass loudly from her impact into it, then make her way out with the pilots at her heels. In normal circumstances, there would've been no decision to make. She would've stuck with the first option, and made her way out as inconspicuously as possible. But these were not her normal circumstances, and she was not used to being held captive, especially not for a long time. It seemed to her like her capture by the hands of the Gundam pilots was a personal insult, and if her escape proved successful with the five boys hunting her down, it would be a small sort of revenge. Besides, she'd been cooped up for a long time and she definitely needed some action. She'd pay them back for what they'd done. Damn Trowa and his green eyes. Damn him and his beautiful green eyes.

Steeling herself mentally after making her decision, she climbed onto the metal chair and reached out for the light bulb, making sure not to burn herself on the hot glass. She tugged on the cord holding the bulb, and it seemed strong enough to hold her weight. Stepping off the chair, she hung onto the cord with both hands and started to swing back and forth, gaining her momentum. As she gained more speed, a single thought crossed her mind.

_This is going to be one hell of a bumpy ride._ __

*******************

Duo, Trowa, and Quatre lounged comfortably in the large eat-in kitchen while having afternoon tea. It had become an unspoken custom among them that at this time of every day they would meet in the kitchen and just enjoy each other's company. Today, however, their topic of conversation was more serious, and Trowa listened as Duo and Quatre talked, half listening to their discussion while letting his mind drift. Inevitably his thoughts always ended up on the same person they had been of late. Blade. Or was it Sonya? Duo had informed them earlier of his peculiar discovery of Quatre's business associate and his new classmate babe being the same person, and the mysterious deletion of the files. So what was he to call her? He didn't really know, but his mind didn't really care. He had a strange suspicion that the girl that they had captured was the same girl he had seen during one of his performances once. When he had knocked the weapon from her hand and they stood staring at each other, he instantly recognized the intense hazel gaze. In reflection, he somehow knew deep in his heart that he'd see those eyes again, and he wasn't the least bit surprised to see her. But now he couldn't get those eyes out of his mind, and the thoughts were starting to bother him.

"… Don't you agree, Trowa?" Duo turned to his silent friend, expecting an answer to his question. When he saw the dreamlike state Trowa was in, he casually waved his hand in front of his face. "Tro-wa?" he said in a singsong voice. "Anybody home?"

Snapped out of his thoughts, Trowa blinked dazedly before turning to Duo. "Sorry, what did you say?"

"You know, in all the time I've known you, I think that's the first time I've seen you daydream," he said with an impish grin. Trowa merely shrugged off the comment and went back to brooding. Duo, seeing that his teasing had no effect on the other boy, grew concerned. 

"You okay, Tro? You seem a bit distant…"

"I'm fine, Duo. No need to worry," he replied almost automatically, but before Duo was allowed to protest, Heero entered in a dark hailstorm and slammed the door shut behind him. They all shared a quizzical look and turned to stare at their furious friend. It was Quatre that dared to risk talking to him.

"What's got you so upset, Heero?" he began in a soft voice, his eyes searching his friend's face for any kind of reaction. Heero was pacing back and forth just outside the door of the room, cursing to himself in Japanese.

At the sound of Quatre's voice, he lifted his head up and saw them for the first time. The flicker of some inner turmoil surfaced in his eyes, as if he were making some major decision. He looked as if to say something, but then changed his mind halfway. In the end, all he asked was, "Is Wufei back yet?"

The other three looked at each other in confusion, as if they didn't know what he was talking about. Irritated, Heero gave them a penetrating stare.

"Come to think of it," Duo said reluctantly, " he was **supposed** to be here by now…"

"I guessed it slipped our minds," Quatre said with an apologetic look at Heero. "Do you need to talk to him?"

Heero muttered an incoherent response and resumed his pacing. Then he stopped suddenly and turned back to them again. "Has he called to check in at all?" he asked of no one in particular.

"I don't think so," Quatre replied hastily. "I could check if—"

"Do that," he interrupted before Quatre had a chance to finish. "Please," he added as somewhat of an afterthought as Quatre turned to leave the room. He almost resumed his pacing again if not for the stern look he was receiving from Trowa. The look clearly stated that Trowa knew something was going on, and he wanted to be informed immediately. Cobalt eyes met with emerald green, and the two shared a long, severe gaze. They were still staring at each other at the time Quatre re-entered.

"He hasn't called at all," he reported in a somewhat subdued voice. "He was sent on a mission, wasn't he?"

"Yeah…" Heero replied distractedly, finally tearing his eyes away from Trowa's. "He still should be here by now…"

"Heero, what's this all about?" Trowa spoke for the first time since the other teen had entered. Heero glanced at him again, then, as if struck by an idea, he walked hurriedly out of the kitchen and into the adjoining room. The others followed him cautiously, and watched as he did something on his laptop. When he couldn't find what he was looking for, he started to swear again.

"Care to give us an explanation now?" Trowa's voice was quiet, but it rung with an edge of steel. He eyes clearly showed that he did not like to be kept in the dark.

"Something's happened to Wufei. I can't find him."

"Why do you wanna talk to Wufei?" Duo asked curiously.

"I don't want to talk about it until we're somewhere more secure. I just received disturbing news." His hands went back to his laptop again, flying furiously over the keys. "Call Noin. Ask if Wufei's checked in with Preventers' HQ. Then set up a meeting with her here as soon as possible. Tell her to bring Sally and Zechs, too."

They all looked puzzled, but agreed to his request.

"Oh, by the way," Duo asked, "how's Relena?"

Heero's hands stilled on the keys. "It's too early to tell," was his curt reply, and his hands began their rapid task once again. "How's our assassin doing?"

"She's pretty roughed up," Quatre replied, both sympathy and malice lacing his voice.

"Don't you recognize her, Heero?" Duo asked. "It's Blade."

His fingers stilled again. "The new girl."

"Yeah, and I don't think it's just coincidence that she's attending our school."

"Of course not. Keep a careful eye on her; Noin can have a look at her once they get here." His eyes glazed over, and then his voice dropped down to a whisper. "She's the key to everything…"

Just then, the sound of a muffled crash reached their ears. They all shared a knowing look, and then rushed off in the direction of the sound.

*******************

The glass was not as thick as she had anticipated, and so her crash through it was much harder and much louder than necessary. She landed hard and ungracefully on top of a control panel, and then skidded over top the various flashing buttons to land with a resound thump onto a chair, which toppled over as soon as her weight impacted it. She got up gently, apprehensive of the pieces of shattered glass underneath her. She pulled out a small piece of glass that had dug into her forearm and looked herself over before moving on. She wasn't hurt badly, for which she was grateful, but her ribs now ached from the collision, and she knew she didn't have very much time. That crash was loud enough to wake a sleeping giant, and she knew that her captors definitely wouldn't be sleeping.

The first pang of light stung her eyes as she opened the door, and it took her a while for her eyes to adjust. Peering out of the doorway cautiously, her vision met only with long, plain corridors that stretched both ways and a door about every five feet along. Cursing her bad luck, she darted out into the empty space, closing the door behind her silently. She knew that she wouldn't be able to hide at all if anyone happened to come around the corner, so she made no efforts at stealth. Instead, she ran forward as fast as she could without making any noise, stopping every time she reached a corner to peer around to see if someone were heading in her direction. Frequently she glanced back over her shoulder to detect any signs of pursuit.

She'd been running for almost five minutes but she seemed to be getting nowhere. She felt that all she'd done was run around in circles, but it was almost impossible to tell due to the lack of landmarks she had at her disposal. She'd decided that she was definitely underground, since there were no windows and the halls just seemed to be joined to one another with no real purpose, although it was a **very** big basement. She knew that her only chance of escape was a stairway leading up, but she'd had absolutely no luck in finding it. Where were the stupid exit signs when you needed one?

Completely by chance, she stopped to rest and leant on one of the doors to catch her breath and fell through. Incidentally enough, that happened to be the door to the stairway. She had tried to open nearly all the doors she passed at the beginning, but none of them had budged. Rolling her eyes heavenward, she stood and darted up the stairs.

*******************

The four of them arrived to find the observation room completely in shambles. The two-way mirror had been broken, and pieces of glass littered the small room. Trowa had immediately gone to the broken window and looked through, even though it was quite obvious that their captive was no longer where she was meant to be. Heero's eyes were furious as they surveyed the damage, and Duo whistled appreciatively.

"Girl's got spunk," he said as he picked up the fallen chair, his lips curving slightly upward. "Must've been one hell of a crash."

"How many stairways are there that lead from the basement up?" Heero demanded of Quatre.

The blond Arab creased his eyebrows in concentration. "Two, I think. One in the East end and one in the West."

"Take Trowa and each of you take a stairway. Go down and search if she's still down there. Duo and I'll handle this floor."

The two teens nodded consent as they left the room. Heero went over to one of the undamaged consoles and brought up the camera surveillance outside the house, frame by frame. The security logs indicated that there hadn't been any movement outside since after his arrival. He turned around to face Duo.

"You take the North side. We'll meet back here in an hour." On his face appeared a predatory grin, and Duo felt his blood run cold.

"She's still in the house."

*******************

Treize stepped around his captive lightly, his movements lithe, graceful, and catlike. Wufei continued to stare at him with hard eyes, his hatred burning in their depths.

"You haven't changed at all, Wufei," he said finally, a Cheshire cat grin appearing on his handsome face as he stopped behind his rival.

"Funny," Wufei retorted, his voice void of humour, "I was about to say the same thing about you."

The sound of Treize's laugh filled the room. "He is stubborn, isn't he?" he asked the small figure who had entered with him, whose presence Wufei had almost completely forgotten.

"You were right about him, father," a girl's voice replied. "But he does make an excellent soldier, doesn't he?" And then the owner of the voice giggled, a high girlish laugh that grated Wufei's nerves. He'd recognize that laugh anywhere.

"Why are you doing this, Mariemaia?" he asked her, staring at the shadow of her figure. "You should've learned your lesson a long time ago."

"All I learned was that I lost my bet, and that I do need some help if I'm going to be victorious." She giggled again, but then her voice turned serious. "Do you want to help us, Wufei?"

He turned his attention back to Treize, although he couldn't see him. "Is this why you brought me here? To ask for my help?" He snorted derisively. "You should know me better than that."

Wufei felt the grin spreading on the other man's face. "Oh, but I do, Wufei. I really, truly, do." Wufei heard the rustle of movement as Treize leaned in closer to him, and felt the other man's breath on the nape of his neck as his hands gripped his shoulders. Involuntarily, he shivered, and his hair stood on end. In a husky voice, Treize whispered a soft promise in his ear.

"But I bet I could change your mind."

That sent a shiver down his spine, but then the pressure on his shoulders was alleviated and Treize turned to leave. "Come, my dear," he said to Mariemaia as he extended his hand to her, and they walked out of the holding room together. He faintly heard Treize talking to the guard but all he heard was a quick "Watch him carefully," for his mind was already on other things. The fact that Treize was alive was startling enough, but now he knew the man was planning something. He needed to escape and warn the others so they could take steps to prevent another disaster from occurring. The only problem with that was: how?

*******************

She made it up the stairs in the knick of time. No sooner had she closed the door behind her had she heard voices and footsteps rounding the corner to her left. She darted to her right and around another corner, pressing her back against the wall and peering cautiously. Quatre and Trowa emerged from around the bend, and the small teen was showing his friend the door to the stairway. Blade unconsciously held her breath; the sight of Trowa sent her heart rate up a beat or two. 

He was so damn beautiful. Without knowing, she traced every detail of his face into memory, every contour, every line, every perfect feature. She didn't know why she was so drawn to him, but she inexplicably was. So entranced by the sight of him, she did not notice the person creeping up behind her until they had clamped a hand firmly over her mouth, and something cold was pressed against her back.

*******************

_Author's Notes:_ I think I'll stop there for now. It's a bit longer than what I usually write, so I hope that somewhat makes up for my lack of updates. The first three or so paragraphs have been sitting half-done for so long now. I've just never been in the mood to write it. Anyways, thanks (as usual) go out to reviewers of the last chapter: GW Dark Chyld, Meghanna Starsong, Blazing-moon, Kywraith Amnesi, Chaos Angst, Yami Hikaru, and Crystal. Actually, it was Crystal's urging that got me to stop being lazy and write, so thanks to Crystal for that. Of course, all your reviews are really appreciated. They really are the salary of a writer. I'll try to get the next chapter up sooner.

Thanks to all,

~Seeress


	12. Preparations for the Unknown

Shadow of the Revolution

_Standard disclaimer applies._

© Seeress, 2002

*******************

**Shadow of the Revolution**

**Chapter 12**

She was almost certain beyond doubt that the barrel of a gun was pressed on her back. Actually, she was willing to bet her life on it, but since an armed weapon was making contact with her skin, she thought it better not to try her luck. Cursing herself for the momentary lapse, she tried to squirm around to get free of her captor's grip. But soon she found that the hand covering her mouth had moved away, and the barrel of the gun was no longer touching her back.

"Keep it down, would you?" an angry female voice hissed, and Blade instantly recognized who was speaking. Whipping around to confront her ex-captor, her eyes flashed fury.

"What the hell do you think you're doing here?"

The girl before her merely smiled, putting her gun back in its holster casually and brushing back a piece of long blonde hair.

"His Excellency thought you might need some help, seeing as you hadn't checked in for 2 days."

"Some way to help me," she snapped angrily, "and for your information, I stayed longer because I thought I could gain us some valuable information. I had the situation under control." So it wasn't entirely the truth, but Dorothy didn't need to know that.

"Really?" she asked in that sarcastic tone of hers, one of her forked eyebrows rising archly. "What if I had been Heero Yuy? He wouldn't have just pressed the gun to your back, you know." She said it with the same neutral sarcasm, and it irritated Blade to the ends of the earth. It took nearly all her self-restraint to not slap the girl on the spot, and it annoyed her even more to see that Dorothy knew what she wanted to do, knew that she wouldn't do it, and was enjoying every moment of her frustration.

"He wouldn't have found me," she replied icily, trying to let out her anger in that one phrase. "And that's no way to talk to your commanding officer. Remember, you work under me."

"Whatever you say… _ma'am._" Blade glared at the girl's insolent tone, but said nothing to the last remark.

"Where are the others?" she demanded.

"They're not here at the moment," was the reply in that sarcastically deceptive voice. Somehow, she guessed that there was more to this story than she was being told. "It's just you and me." Her eyes narrowed.

"Did you take care of the security system?" Blade asked.

"Of course. The shuttle's around the back."

"Let's go, then."

"I thought you'd never ask." 

*******************

After an hour of futile searching, the four of them met up again in front of the wrecked observation room. There had been no traces of the path in which their captive left, and they soon found out that before her departure she had disabled the security system as well. The motion sensors and cameras outside the house proved to be useless, and it had taken a while to get them back up again.

"She's probably long gone by now, Heero," Quatre approached him, his eyes fixed on one of the security screens that showed the scenery of the setting sun. The Japanese teen did not reply, but merely stared hard at the same screen as Quatre. Finally, after a silence had settled on them, he seemed to come to a decision.

"Have you called Noin yet?" he asked.

"Uh… no, I haven't."

"I can do that," Duo said quickly, wanting to be away from the tension-strung silence. He tried to leave the room before anybody had time to object, but Heero's quick hand caught his arm before he had made it very far.

"Tell her that I found the keys she lost." Duo looked at him questioningly, as if disbelieving what he was hearing. Then comprehension dawned on him, and he nodded grimly before walking out to make that delayed phone call.

*******************

The door closed behind her with a loud bang, and she was left to stand in her tattered glory in front of her superior officer. The lighting was very dim, and she could only vaguely see the outline of a person sitting at a large antique desk with his head bent down over a stack of papers. As soon as the door had shut, however, the figure had lifted his head to stare at her, and she suddenly felt herself becoming very nervous.

"You wanted to see me, sire?" The figure stood up and walked around the desk, then slowly made his toward her. She was suddenly self-conscious of her appearance, as she knew she must look like a wreck.

He was standing directly in front of her now, and the light played across his light brown hair and high cheekbones. His eyes were not neutral, as she'd thought they would be, but instead held an emotion she couldn't recognize and something akin to concern. 

"Are you alright, my Lady?" he asked, reaching a hand out to touch on of her open wounds that still hadn't healed. "You should've gotten these tended to first." He removed his hand, and the white glove he was wearing was stained blood red.

"I was told that you requested my presence immediately, Your Excellency, unless I was misinformed…"

He waved his hand in dismissal. "As long as you are alright, Lady. _Are_ you all right?"

"Of course, sir."

"Good."

Silence hung between them, and Blade tried to keep her eyes focused straight ahead as Treize walked around her, examining her injuries.

"Did they take everything?"

At first she didn't comprehend his question. "The pilots, sir?"

"Yes. They must've searched you when you were captured." She winced at the use of the word 'captured.'

"Yes, sir. I left the rifle behind and they took all but one. I ran into Dorothy inside the house after I had gotten free."

His hand went to the top of her bra where the lock-pick was kept. "And this was the one they didn't take," he said it casually as his hand removed the little piece of metal, and Blade hoped he didn't notice that that touch had made her blush furiously.

"Are the others here, sir?" she asked, trying to regain her composure.

"Most of them," he said evenly, his eyes never leaving her face. "The meeting is tomorrow, after all. You know well enough to know they'd be here. They'd all be here, but Five got called to an emergency meeting."

"Pardon my question, sir, but why did you send Dorothy to free me if the others were here?"

"She's just as good as the others, isn't she? She volunteered to go, so I let her. Was there a problem?"

"No, sir, it's just—well, you know that she and I… we don't—"

"You don't get along?" he finished for her, and she flushed at how childish it sounded. "I knew perfectly well, Lady. But you must never let your personal feelings influence your judgement. It's not like you to fail," he added, and she flushed again, lowering her eyes. "Consider it your punishment."

"Yes, sir," she said softly, not looking up. She felt his hand beneath her chin, and he lifted her face up to look at his. She was surprised how much his opinion meant to her, and she couldn't stand the thought of failure written in his eyes. But his face remained neutral, except for that unidentifiable emotion she had seen before that still lingered in his eyes. He spoke to her in a strangely gentle voice, although his orders were firm, and his hand was still holding her chin.

"Get those wounds tended to, and then clean up and get some rest. It's a big day tomorrow and I'm sure you could use it." His hand dropped away, but he had taken a step closer, and she found the invasion of her personal space somewhat hostile. Involuntarily she took a step back.

"Yes, sir," she replied curtly. And, not waiting for him to dismiss her, she turned around and fled.

*******************

**[Next Day: 0900 hours, Marge Charlotte Institute, Colony L2]**

"So, everyone is here except for Mr. Maxwell, Miss Violet, and Mr. Yuy, is that correct?" the teacher read aloud, frowning as she marked the attendance for the day, surprised to see that three of her top students were missing.

I wonder where they could be… 

*******************

A large black limousine could be seen driving through the broad iron gates of the Winner estate early the next morning, where Quatre Winner himself came to greet his guests. The first to exit the car was a woman with honey-blonde hair in twists, which the host greeted warmly and beckoned inside. The second person to exit was another woman with short dark hair, followed by a man with long pale-blond hair that seemed to be protective of the woman who had gotten out before him. The host greeted them all fondly, and he walked with them inside as the butler shut the large white doors behind them.

As soon as the doors were locked and the servants gone, the façade of a cheerful visit was dropped from the visitors' faces, as well as the host's own and the faces of his earlier visitors. Once they were in a soundproof room and the door was locked behind them, they started to go about their business.

"We got here as soon as we could," Noin began, concern seeping into her voice and surfacing on her face. "What's happened?"

"It could be nothing, or it could be everything," Heero answered her, his face grim. "Yesterday I had a… conversation with Dr. J," he began, not really knowing how to say what he knew. "He started to talk about X18999, and how Operation Meteor wasn't Dekim Barton's idea."

"Wait," Zechs interrupted him. "Why would he tell you this?"

Heero gave him a scathing look. "I don't know," he said icily. "He went on to say that the whole thing was Treize's idea, and that something major was going to happen soon, something that could affect all of us."

"The man's been prone to lie, Heero. Do you really believe him?" Sally asked, her scepticism apparent on her face.

"I know that," he admitted, "but he doesn't do these things for fun. He said that the situation around me would be all the proof I needed."

"What situation?" Noin prodded.

"He said that someone close to me would be missing, and that someone who had just entered my life would be the source of my problems and the key to solving them."

"Not a very straightforward kind of guy, is he?" Zechs observed.

"So you're saying that the person close to you that's missing is Wufei, but what about this new person entering your life thing?" Noin asked.

"That's Blade," Duo answered for Heero. "At least, that's what we know her as. She enrolled in our school not too long ago; she's the one that tried to kill Relena." He said the last part a little nervously, his glance shifting to Zechs. The man's eyes were as cold as ice.

"But she's escaped now," Sally finished the statement.

"We examined that weapon she used, by the way," Noin said to the four of them. "You're not going to believe this, but it's made out of gundanium alloy and runs on an intense chemical reaction that is channelled out into a laser. It's a very advanced weapon and she'd have to work for someone who's got some money to through away to be able to afford something like that."

"But where would you get something like that?" Trowa's question came unexpectedly.

"There's not too many factories that are allowed to manufacture gundanium, so we're tracing it back to the legal sources first. Of course, there's always someone who's producing something illegally, so if the factories turn out to be a dead end we'll have to deal with the back-alley sellers."

"So we're assuming that we believe the doctor's story?" Sally asked in verification.

"With what we have so far, it looks like he's telling the truth," Noin answered her. "Wufei's failed to check in for more than 72 hours and he's disappeared off the GPS tracking entirely. You seem to know this assassin," she said, looking at Heero and Duo, "but we don't really know what her intentions are or who she works for."

"So we're pretty much back where we started," Duo said despairingly.

"Not entirely," Zechs corrected. "You know who she is, or at least what she looks like, so we could do a background check on her at Preventers' HQ with the mainframe. We'll start tracking Wufei to see where his last known position was, and then take it from there."

They all nodded their consent.

"In the meantime, you should all lie low for a while, and watch yourselves," Noin added. "And don't go doing anything hasty," she said, giving a sideward glance at Heero. "Right now we should be most concerned about Relena's condition. We should also taking turns watching her, since this assassin of yours might come back to finish the job. I'll try to do as much as I can."

Everyone looked at each other grimly, and an understanding passed between them. Like in the wartime of the years before, there had been no need for words. It was a soldier's knowledge that each shared, and the burden of responsibility that was upon them all did not seem so heavy.

*******************

The vid-phone turned on almost as soon as his commanding officer had left after making her daily report. He knew the effect he had on her, and it amused him to see those rosy blushes that stained her cheeks at his littlest action. She was so much like Lady Une that it startled him somewhat.

The bright light and the voice from behind him reminded him that he had a call to answer. Turning around, he greeted his caller.

"Dr. J," he saluted briefly. "I take it you've done what I asked?" 

The Doctor muttered something incoherent under his breath. Treize laughed.

"He didn't take it too well, I'm assuming?"

"That's a dire understatement," the Doctor snorted. "If he could, I think he would've come through the screen to strangle me."

"He'll understand why I'm doing this as soon as he finds out. I just needed him to know that bit of information." 

Dr. J's face grew grave. "You're playing a dangerous game, Treize. You know what each of them can do. The two of them together… well, the world would tremble at their feet. I should know; I trained them, after all. If either of them ever finds out—"

"But they won't, will they?" Treize interrupted smoothly. "You've kept it secret from him for so many years, and I've never said anything to her, either. Only Theresa* knew, and we've gotten rid of that problem."

"I just wanted to warn you," the Doctor's voice held slight irritation. "I'm not the one he'll be after."

"I realize," the aristocrat replied. "Did you finish the suits?"

"The five Zephras are done for the squad, and your Deimos is almost complete. There are a couple thousand Viros, and about ten thousand Eagles so far. We're having a bit of trouble mass-producing them without anyone noticing, so it's taking a bit longer than expected. 

"How much longer do you think it's going to take?"

"To reach the numbers you want, maybe another 4 or 5 days. It's mostly the atmospheric shields that take the longest to manufacture. But if you want, I can send those Zephras to you now. They're a piece of real beauty. You can give the squad a head start, and then the rest can join them later."

Treize nodded his approval. "Do that. Contact me as soon as they're complete."

"Of course. Just keep those soldiers of yours fit and ready to pilot them; my suits aren't going to be easy to control."

"Have them done; I'll take it from there."

And with that, he terminated the connection.

*******************

The five girls of the elite squad filed into the conference room and each took a seat at the five lined chairs. Each wore her emerald green uniform, with the gold buttons and trimmings accentuating the dark green velvet. The pants were of the same green colour, except that they were made with a tougher fabric. They wore the standard military boots, and their belts could carry weapons and ammunition.  

Another door that joined to the room opened, and Treize Kushrenada, head of their organization and their superior officer, stepped out. His was wearing his usual blue attire, with the black cape draped casually over one of his shoulders. His knee-high made no sound on the parquet floor as he walked to the head of the table and sat down. He laced his white-gloved fingers together and looked at them all intently.

"You know why I've called you here," he began. "We've been secretly pursuing our goal for years, and now, at last, we can taste its fruition. Tomorrow will be the day you have all waited for. Your suits are ready, and you can finally fight for your cause." He paused briefly and looked at them all, then continued on again. "They will be sent to different places over the globe." He opened a folder that had previously been sitting on the desk, and handed a file to each of them. "The exact co-ordinates will be in here, as well as schematics for your suit and orders for your first mission. Once you have learned all of this by heart, destroy the file." Then he looked to Sally.

"So, what did our rivals say at the emergency meeting?" he asked.

"Nothing too relevant," she replied, her face neutral. "They know who Blade is and they plan to do a background check on her to see what they can find. They're also trying to track Wufei, but that's about all that's been decided on. They're worried about the Vice Foreign Minister's condition, so that's what the focus is on right now."

He nodded as she finished her report, and glanced over all their faces once more before speaking again. "As of now, you have no name. Each of you has a code, and until this is over, that is who you are. You will continue to receive orders through your suits and I expect them to be carried out quickly and effectively. We _are_ the revolution, is this is what we do. Is that understood?"  

A scraping of wood against wood could be heard as the five officers stood up abruptly. Each brought her hand smartly to her brow, and shouted out the one salutation.

"Yes, sir!" 

Somewhere, a thousand miles away from the scheming revolutionists, a monotone flat line could be heard echoing in the white halls of the hospital. Shouts could be heard as nurses and doctors rushed in to see to the patient. But it was no use.

Relena Darlian Peacecraft, Vice Foreign Minister of the Earth Sphere Unified Nation, had died.

*******************

*For those of you that don't remember, Theresa is the name of Blade's mother. It's mentioned in chapter 3, but I don't think you'd remember that far back.

_Author's Notes:_ Well, that was quicker than usual, wasn't it? It only took me 16 days to get this up! *gasps* I think I must be sick or something. Anyways, thanks always to those who reviewed the last chapter: Yami Hikaru (contradicting name, isn't it? Yami means darkness and hikari means light, so Yami Hikaru must mean… light of darkness?), GW Dark Chyld, Blazing-moon, and Meghanna Starsong. You guys have been the greatest for sticking with me for this long, and I appreciate all your comments on my writing. I do feel my writing has improved since I first started, and thanks to Meghanna for mentioning that. Again, thanks so much to everyone. I really couldn't have made it this far without you. 

Enjoy the chapter, because there probably won't be another update as fast as this one ever again, unless the writing bug bites me.

Until next time,

~Seeress


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